The Devil's Game
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: Selina, Katherine, and others who lost someone when the demons disappeared try to understand how it happened and what they need to do to undo it, but after Selina summons Lucifer to find out where the demons went, they soon learn from the man himself that, of course, there will be a price to get their loved ones back, because he doesn't give things away for free.
1. Demons Still Lost

**Disclaimer: Only plots and any original characters belong to me!**

"Mom?" Selina felt herself be shaken awake and for a moment, she was disconcerted. "What?" She asked, staring at Arthur. "Who are you?"

"Mom, it's me, Arthur!" He told her and sat down next to her on the bed. "I made some tea. Would you like a cup?"

"Sure," Selina nodded, noting how much Arthur had looked like Dorian for a moment. "Thank you. And I'm sorry if I frightened you." Then she put her hands on either side of his face. It looked as if he'd been crying just like she had. "What's wrong?" She asked. "Are you sad about your father going missing? I am too. But we'll find a way to deal with it."

Arthur froze. "Dad's gone? Lily is too! I was at Elijah and Amy's last night and they said she'd been at the breakfast table and just disappeared in thin air!"

"Really?" Selina asked. "Do they know why? Maybe this means your dad didn't just run off after all. Would you call Katherine to see if Rodan's gone too? I think I might have an idea of where they went."

"All right," Arthur nodded. He got up to leave the room and Selina's voice made him pause by the door.

"Arthur, we're going to get your father back. I promise you," she said. "And Lily, too."

He turned and nodded. "Thanks. I really needed to hear that." He then continued. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do for you?"

"No, no," Selina shook her head. "But thank you. I'll shower and get dressed, then throw my sheets in the wash. That'll make me feel better."

"All right, then," Arthur told her. "While you go do that, I will call Katherine."

"Thanks!" Selina told him when Arthur returned with her tea. "I appreciate it."

* * *

"Well, isn't this a coincidence!" Katherine remarked when Arthur called. "You know, I was just about to phone _you_! Cause Rodan's gone, and I wondered if-"

"Nope," Arthur cut her off. "Dad's gone too. And Lily."

"Oh, damn!" Katherine swore. "How's your mother? I hope she's doing well, but part of me thinks not."

"Well, I can tell she's been crying but she says she has some idea of where Dad and Lily and Rodan went, so I think that cheered her up a little."

"Good," Katherine remarked. "So what's her idea?"

"I don't know yet," Arthur replied. "But she'll probably tell me after she gets out of the shower."

"When she does tell you, will you ask her to call me too, please, and let _me_ know?" Katherine requested.

"Oh, of course," Arthur assured her, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes. "I'm sure that once she knows Rodan is gone too, she'll want to call you in any case."

"Should I wait on the line?" Katherine questioned. "Or should I hang up and she can call me later?"

Arthur paused and waited. He heard the shower turn off, and told Katherine, "Her shower just ended and it never takes her long to dress, so I suppose you could stay on the line if you wanted to. Just depends on how long you want to wait."

"I'll stay on the line," Katherine decided. "How are you doing? I understand that the answer could be 'horrible'."

"Yes," Arthur nodded. "I mean, I know he wouldn't just up and leave without telling us why, so that must mean something happened that was beyond his control and that he loved us when he left, but still…to find him gone and not know why…it's hard! And Lily too. That's just the cherry on the fucking sundae."

Just then, Selina came into the room and he put the phone on his shoulder. "Want to talk to Katherine?" He asked. "She's interested to know about your plan to figure out what happened to Dad and Lily because Rodan is gone too."

"He is?" Selina asked. "Damn!" She reached out her hand and took the phone. "I'm so sorry to hear about Rodan," she said.

"Thank you," Katherine told her. "Now…what's this plan Arthur says you have to get him and Lily, and Dorian back?"

"Well, it's not necessarily a plan yet," Selina hedged. "But I think I know who took them, so that's a start, right?"

"Yeah…" Katherine nodded. "Who was it?"

"Lucifer," Selina replied. "You know, the devil? Dorian said he'd been nosing around the office for a bit and I think Rodan and Dorian were talking about it at one point or something."

"You think the devil stole our husbands?" Katherine asked. "And Lily too?"

"I'm not sure, maybe," Selina replied. "It wouldn't hurt to hunt him down and ask."

"You're gonna walk up to the devil and ask him if he took Dad and the others?" Arthur questioned, skeptical of this plan. "And what if he says he did? Will you demand they be brought back?"

"Of course!" Selina said. "Why would I go to all the trouble to find out where they were if I had no intention of bringing them back?"

"It sounds complicated and dangerous," Arthur remarked. "Maybe I should go and you should stay home."

"I will not," Selina told him firmly. "You can help me with this if you want, but I am _not_ going to be left out of bringing your father back. I'm just not. I don't care how dangerous it is!"

"It's just because I'm worried about losing you too," Arthur explained. Then he paused. "Wait a minute."

"What?" Selina asked.

"You being that mad would normally show your demon face," Arthur told her. "But nothing happened. What if…what if you're not a demon anymore?"

"What?" Selina asked and ran to the hall mirror, quickly ascertaining that he was right.

Arthur was grateful for the diversion of his mother's attention and picked the phone up from the floor where Selina dropped it. "Are you still there, Katherine?" He asked. "Would you like to come devil hunting too?"

"I wouldn't miss it if you'll have me," Katherine replied.

* * *

Although it had been easy at one point to say that she was going to be a better mother to Christopher than she'd been to Eric, once they got him settled into his own bassinet, it was harder. The crying and screaming and lack of sleep, the constant attention that the child needed; It was a big change for Sybil, who had lived so long for herself. She did the best she could to make an effort and Klaus knew that, but a few evenings after his birth, Klaus remembered just what this child was, and made it his mission to prevent Sybil from finding out just how hideous their child could look, in case that was something that would end her desire to be more hands-on.

"You won't grow up without a mother," Klaus promised Christopher who, at the moment, had gray skin, horns coming out of him, and something resembling fur as he screamed. As if the child's perpetual anger had stuck him in a werewolf form. But how could that be? He was just a baby. He'd never killed anyone. But then again, he was a strange sort of hybrid. For his type, this could be the proper development. Klaus was as uncertain as anyone, but loved his son anyway.

Once he'd managed to get Christopher calmed down enough that he maintained a human appearance for longer periods of time, Klaus decided it was time to tell Sybil everything.

"You and I have to talk," he said while Christopher was talking a nap. "It's about our son."

"All right, but if you're planning on scolding me for not taking care of him as well as I should, may I remind you that you are the one who decided to hijack him and leave me out of the loop," Sybil said.

"And I'm filling you in now," Klaus told her. "That's the point. The reason why I hijacked his care is because he's begun showing a demon appearance, and I thought it would horrify you so much that you'd be unwilling to care for him."

"Really?" Sybil was shocked by this. "Do I really come off so heartless that you think I would do that?"

"No," Klaus shook his head. "But I know you've been very overwhelmed and I…I didn't want to get you to try and do anything before you were ready." He paused. "You know, when Selina and I would reminisce about our terrible childhoods, she said that she always suspected that one of the reasons why she and her mother had such difficulties was that she was born before her mother was truly ready to have children, and the fact that she wasn't ready mentally, despite the fact that she knew she loved her daughter, made bonding difficult. I was trying to stop that from happening with you and Christopher by giving you a little more time. I wasn't trying to make it seem like you were a bad mother or that you would hurt him."

"Well, thank goodness for that," Sybil smiled and looked around the bright-blue painted nursery. "Cause I…I really _do_ want to give mothering a shot, even if it's gotten off to a rough start."

"It's harder than it seems," Klaus told her, grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet. "Give yourself a break. Time to learn things and adjust. You don't have to know it all right now."

"What's happened to you?" Sybil gave him a playful grin. "You just seem so different!"

Klaus shrugged and smiled. "I'm apparently good at being a parent. Who knew?" They then went into Christopher's room and found him waking up from his nap.

"You want to take this?" Klaus questioned her. "I can stand here and watch in case you need help?"

"No," Sybil said after taking a breath and reaching into the bassinet. "I think I can handle it." She snuggled Christopher against her chest and took him to the rocking chair nearby. "Hi, little guy," she told him. "Sorry I've been away. But Daddy's been taking good care of you, hasn't he? But it's my turn now. I promise I'm ready. I love you, Christopher." She kissed the baby's head and rocked him before shooing Klaus out of the room so she could feed him too.

* * *

"He's just _gone_!" Sarah sobbed into her father's shirt. "He disappeared, just like Junior! I don't know what I'm going to do now! How can I help Ellie get through being abandoned again if I can't even handle it myself?"

Matthew ran his fingers through Sarah's hair. "I know I had reservations about Josh at first, but I firmly believe he loves you and the life you've made together with Ellie. He didn't just leave like Junior did. Something else had to be going on. If he left suddenly, there has to be a good reason!"

"But do you think I'll ever know that?" Sarah asked. "Cause I love Josh and I want so badly to believe you, but without proof…I just don't know. And I…something happened at the gym, too. I went to work and…it seemed like it was abandoned! As if no one had ever been there at all, and I know for certain it's not true!"

"I'm sure there's an answer somewhere," Matthew hugged her hard. "We'll just have to find it."

"And while we do, you don't mind watching Ellie, do you?" Sarah questioned.

"Of course not!" Matthew replied. "I would love to watch her! As would anyone else!"

Just then, the doorbell rang and Sarah stood up. "I'll get it," she said. She headed toward the door, wondering who it could be, and of course, wondering what she would do without Josh's help. She opened the door and gasped. Junior was on her doorstep!

Shocked, she slapped him and slammed the door in his face.

"I suppose I deserved that," he told her. "But I heard that Josh is gone and I came because I thought you would need help with Ellie. Do you?"

"How do you know that Josh is gone?" Sarah called from the other side of the still-closed door. "Did you have a part in it? Did you make it so he had to leave and it would be easy for you to come striding over here and act like a hero?"

"I promise that I personally didn't have anything to do with Josh's disappearance," Junior told her. "But if you open the door and let me in, I'll tell you who did."

"You tell me from behind the closed door and if it sounds like you're being honest, I'll let you in," Sarah called back. "That's the deal, take it or leave it."

"It was your dad and mine," Junior said immediately without another word of protest. "And Mikael. They wanted to get rid of the demons and found a way to do it, so that's why Josh is gone now."

Sarah wanted to protest, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. She cursed when she realized that although she didn't want to believe what he was saying, it was credible, cause she knew of Malachai's hatred for demons. And John's. It wasn't impossible that they were so desperate to be without demons that they would even risk rifts in their families to make it happen. She paused and then finally opened the door and let Junior in. "But don't get any ideas and try to put moves on me," she said firmly. "You're here to be a nanny for Ellie and that's it. Don't try and be her dad or bond with her if she doesn't want you to. Just keep an eye on her while I try and find Josh and get my life back together. You think you can do that?"

"Yes," Junior nodded. "I can." He paused. "Is the next step in getting your life together confronting Malachai and telling him how pissed you are about what he did to Josh?"

"Oh, hell yes," Sarah nodded.

"All right," Junior replied. "Would you like me to come with you when you do it?"

"No," Sarah shook her head. "No, thank you. This is something I need to do by myself. You watch Ellie with Dad until I get back."

"All right," Junior told her. "Be careful, all right?"

"I don't need you to tell me that!" Sarah snapped. "I'll be just fine. I've always been fine. Most of the time, no thanks to you. Goodbye!"


	2. Getting Them Back

Sarah didn't even bother to knock politely when she reached Malachai and Helene's house. Instead, she zapped herself inside (which was considered a _big_ breach of magical etiquette) and shouted for her father.

"Malachai! Where the hell are you? I believe we need to have a word!" She heard nothing and advanced further into the house, going down hallways and pulling open doors. The she saw William. "Is our father here?" She asked. "Or did he know that I'd want to talk to him about what he did one day and ran away like a coward?"

"He and Helene went to the store, but I'm sure they'll be back any minute," William replied.

But Sarah didn't want to wait that long. She grabbed her phone and called her father instead. "Malachai? What were you thinking, making Josh disappear when you knew he made me happy? What is _wrong_ with you?"

"So much," Malachai replied. He sounded upset, but Sarah couldn't tell if it was because he felt bad for her, or because he was mad to be caught. "I'm sorry. I was so set on getting rid of the demons cause of the threat they posed that I…I didn't do much thinking beyond that like I should have."

"It's nice that you can admit it, but what you did can't be undone!" Sarah cried. "Or at least not as fast as I would like it to be. Would you and Helene get back here so we can talk?"

"What more do you want to hear?" Malachai questioned.

"I would like to know why you hate demons so much that you even wanted to make me miserable by taking the one I love. This isn't helping our relationship, you know," Sarah reminded him. "Did you think about that before you did the spell?"

"I thought you would understand," Malachai told her. "I thought you would get that sending Josh away was best for the safety of everyone."

"Don't get me wrong, all right?" Sarah told him. "I know that there are a lot of demons who are crazy and violent. Thinking of them as a threat is justified. But it just…it makes me sad that Josh got sent away with the others even though he's probably the gentlest demon who was ever born, and was punished for something he didn't even do." She paused. "Tell me how you intend to fix that and I _might_ consider talking to you again someday."

"All right," Malachai replied with a heavy sigh. "Please don't leave. We'll be home soon."

"Good," Sarah nodded. "I'll be waiting for you. Don't take too long."

She waited in the living room and William offered her coffee. "I know Dad made a mistake," he said. "But is it going to be that hard for you to forgive him?"

"He made me lose the love of my life because of a petty and spiteful vendetta!" Sarah snapped. "If Dad hated Lucy for some reason and made you lose her, wouldn't you be mad at him too?"

"Of course," William told her. "But then I would think about how he did what he did for the greater good and to protect everyone and I would understand and give him a break!"

This response made Sarah's head hurt. "I understand how that might be easy for you and I can appreciate it, but I just…I love Josh so much and I think he's been through enough in his life that he doesn't deserve grief just for existing. So much so that I can't afford to be as generous as you. Malachai's not gonna have it easy with me and I won't be made to feel guilty for feeling angry, hurt, and betrayed. Got it?"

She looked so angry that William just said "Yes, ma'am, sorry," and made a run for it.

* * *

When Helene and Malachai finally arrived home, she told him, "I will put the groceries away while you deal with this, all right?"

"All right," Malachai told her, swallowing nervously and taking a breath before going to face his daughter.

When Sarah saw him, anger and adrenaline took over and she punched him in the face, breaking his nose.

"There," she said, standing over him as he looked up at her. "I feel better now." She paused. "Well, not completely," she admitted to herself. "But it's a start, anyway." She gave Malachai a kick. "Do you know why I did that?" She asked. "Tell me that you understand why I did that and why I'm mad at you. And don't make any excuses about it either."

"I made Josh go away along with the other demons and that hurt you," Malachai told her. "You have every right to be mad at me. I understand that, and I'm sorry. I really and truly am."

"Are you really?" Sarah asked.

"Yes!" Malachai nodded, his eyes wide as he begged and pleaded. "You don't have to believe me, but I am! I'll do whatever I have to in order to fix what I've done."

"And then when Josh comes back, you're gonna welcome him with open arms and not say one word against him, aren't you?"

"No," Malachai shook his head, his eyes downcast. "I promise I won't. I've learned my lesson on that score."

"Good," Sarah smiled. "I should hope so. Now we begin the process of trying to get Josh back. You try and undo what you did and I will call my sister and see if she's around, knows what's going on, and can help too. Ready?"

"Yes," Malachai looked her firmly in the eye and tried to sound confident, even though he knew that trying to undo what he, John, and Mikael did was going to be difficult, if not impossible for him to achieve.

* * *

"Don't worry," Arthur assured a gently sobbing Amy as he handed her a tissue. "We'll find Lily and bring her back, I promise. Mom's on it because Dad's gone too."

"I just…I just don't know where she went!" Amy sobbed. "One minute, she was eating her dinner, and then the next, she disappeared!" She paused. "Does your mother have any idea where she might be? I know it's a lot to ask because it just happened, but…"

"Dad's gone too," Arthur said. "Mom's got lots of motivation to look for the demons!"

"Yes," Elijah nodded, his voice steely. "This will be a good lesson for Lucifer not to mess with the queen of the demons. I often criticized her temper, but now I'm grateful for it because it will bring Lily and the others home!"

"I agree," Arthur nodded. "And Mom's been so brave through all of this. I can tell that a lot of the time, she's wanted to curl up in a ball and cry because she misses Dad, but she doesn't because I know she wants to stay strong for me."

"I know," Elijah said and gave Arthur a hug. "Would you give her that for me and tell her that I'm thinking about her?"

"Yes," Arthur nodded. "In fact, you should come and visit her some time. I think it would do her good to see you and talk to you."

"It would be my pleasure to come," Elijah smiled. "She _did_ mention several times when we were married how much I made her feel better in times of trouble." He paused. "Have her call me when she finds the time," he said. "Then we can pick an hour to come together."

"Oh, I will do that," Arthur replied. "I promise." He paused and looked at the clock on the wall. "I know Mom's not helpless and can spend time by herself, but I've been here a long time and I don't want to overstay my welcome."

"You could never do that," Amy told him. "But I would understand if you need to get home and be a source of comfort for her. You _are_ her son, after all, and sons, more than _any other person_ , should be comforts to their mothers." She nudged him toward the door and shut it behind him when he was on the front step, then turned to face Elijah.

"What was that all about?" He asked. "Why were you so excited to see Arthur out of here?"

"You heard why," Amy told him. "I didn't want him to leave his mother alone!"

"Are you sure it's not something other than that?" Elijah questioned. "You seem upset. Have I done something to offend you? Do you not like it that I'm concerned about the well-being of a woman who is the mother of more than five of my children? I thought the two of you were friends and that you would have more sympathy for her situation."

"She _is_ my friend and I have _plenty_ of sympathy for her situation!" Amy cried. "Don't you dare tell me that I don't! I just don't think that you should be showing her that sympathy without me, and not only that…showing it to your ex-wife by putting your paws all over her! Remember that you divorced her and are married to _me_ now!"

"Oh, I know!" Elijah told her. "I am in no way trying to rekindle any sort of relationship with Selina that would threaten what you and I have. What kind of a cad do you take me for, accusing me of not only cheating on you, but taking advantage of a woman who's very vulnerable right now, no matter how much she tries to hide it?"

"Well, I would like to think that that's not what you are, but don't think I haven't noticed that I married both you and your brother only after she divorced you. I know there's a strong connection between the two of you and I just…don't blame me for being worried that you're gonna see her in distress, go comfort her, and then fall in love with her all over again!" She paused. "I will have you know that just because I am very put together and can take care of myself most of the time, that doesn't mean I don't have anything that can attract you! Do I need to prove to you that a woman doesn't need to be a shrinking violet to get your attention, Elijah Mikaelson? Do I?" She was getting really keyed up, adrenaline surging through her body. Then, to both her shock and Elijah's, she reached out and slapped him hard across the face.

"Amy," he said quietly as he put a hand to his reddening cheek, "What in the world did you do that for?"

"What do think I did it for?" She asked, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "How does it make you feel? Does it make you angry? Does it make you want to fight me? Go ahead! I can take it! It would probably be good for me!"

But instead of hurting her as she had hurt him, Elijah grabbed her, pulled her close, and kissed her hard. "No," he said firmly, resting his forehead against hers. "I won't do it." He paused and whispered, "You know I prefer to love rather than fight. And believe me, I love more than anything that I don't fight very often with you. When I comfort Selina, it's just a hug and some words, I promise."

"I don't know," Amy told him.

"I do," Elijah confirmed, kissing her again until he felt her legs fold beneath her so that he had to pick her up and hold onto her. "I do, whether you believe it or not."

"We'll see," Amy told him and ran her fingers through his hair. "We'll see."

* * *

"How are you doing?" Elijah asked Klaus. "Lonely without Sybil? I hope her being gone won't make you do anything rash."

"What do you mean by that, brother?" Klaus questioned as he left the nursery and stood outside in the hallway. "Sybil's not gone. She's still with me and the baby. Why would you say otherwise?"

"Because…because I thought all of the demons were gone!" Elijah replied. "Dorian is! Lily is!" He paused, trying not to sound bitter. "Why is it that you get to keep _your_ demon wife and my demon daughter is gone?"

"I-I don't know!" Klaus exclaimed, feeling genuinely dumbstruck. "Do you mean it when you say that a bunch of demons are gone? I-I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what answer I can give you that would make you feel better."

"Oh don't bother," Elijah sighed tiredly. "It's just…one of those unfair things. But will you do me a favor, brother?"

"Of course," Klaus nodded. "What is it?"

"Realize what you have," Elijah told him. "Be grateful. Show care. Don't take anything for granted. Because you never know when it might get taken away from you. Will you do that?"

"Yes," Klaus told him, his voice shaking slightly. "I will. Thank you, brother. Is there any way for Lily to be brought back? Has Amy got any suggestions?"

"Oh, believe me, she's been thinking of suggestions to bring Lily back night and day but none of them have any chance of working. Arthur says Selina has a plan to bring everyone back, but I don't know if Amy would want to talk to her. She's a bit sensitive about her right now."

"Oh?" Klaus asked. "Why?"

"Never mind," Elijah snapped. "That's why. I just called to tell you about what's been going on with the demons and now that I have, I'll think I'll hang up so you can get back to your family. Congratulations again on your new son."

"Thank you," Klaus told him. "Goodbye, brother. And good luck." Then he went to see Sybil, who had Christopher on the floor of the bedroom and was playing with him. "And how was your brother?" She asked, looking up as Klaus strode into the room. "Good?"

"He's been better, he's been worse," Klaus shrugged. "How's Christopher? He seems all right. Any shows of temper?"

"Not so far," Sybil shook her head. "Although a bad part of me wishes that he would freak out again so I could have more practice dealing with his demon side."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll have your chance at some point," Klaus promised. "But for now, just enjoy the quiet."

* * *

"Of course I'll call my mother," Gregory assured Elijah when he was told about what had happened with Dorian. "I was planning to anyway because AnnaLynne is gone also and I wondered…I wondered if she had any information for me that could help."

"She suspects the devil had something to do with it if you can believe that," Elijah replied. Then he really heard what Gregory said. "You lost someone too? You can't be serious! It's like some sort of weird plague or something."

"Yes," Gregory nodded. "I guess the demons were more a part of our lives than we realized until it was too late." He paused gasped. "I can keep her alive in the Amazon, but the second we get home, she's gone. I don't get it."

"Do you love her?" Elijah asked. "She sounds like she means a lot to you."

"Yeah," Gregory nodded. "I didn't want to admit it before, but now that it's too late, it's like I have no other choice."

"Oh, I know, my boy," Elijah told him. "So often, it happens that way."

"What do you think I should do?" Gregory questioned. "How do you think I should deal with it? What will make me feel better?"

"I don't know for certain what would help," Elijah told him. "This might sound ridiculous, but maybe you could write AnnaLynne a letter now that you're certain about your feelings toward her. Get them down so they can't be taken back and when she returns (because I have no doubt that with your mother's determination, all the demons will be returning at some point) you can give it to her. I'm sure it would be a lovely welcome home."

"I agree," Gregory smiled. "I'll do that. Thank you, Uncle Elijah."

"You're welcome, Gregory," Elijah replied. "Take care of yourself, write that letter, and don't forget to call your mother."

"I won't," Gregory promised. "Goodbye."

After he hung up with his uncle and before he called his mother, Gregory sat down at his desk, got out a pen and paper, and wrote the note.

 _Dear AnnaLynne,_

 _I know I've been really stupid about this, but now that you're gone, it's become imperative for me to come to terms with the fact that I do have feelings for you. And not only that…I love you very much and my life is empty without you. My mother is working hard to bring back you and the others, and when you return, I'd like you to marry me, if it's not too much trouble. I need us to be united before you have a chance to slip away again, because us being separated is pure torture for me and I hate it more than I ever seemed to hate you._

 _Please come back to me. It's what I want more than anything in the world._

 _With much love,_

 _Gregory_

He then folded the note up, put it under his pillow, and called his mother.


	3. Finding A Way Out

In the cavern underneath the extinct volcano, a bunch of restless demons plotted.

"You know I can't stay here!" Josh complained to Dorian and Rodan as they all paced around the extremely hot room. "I have a family to get back to! I can't just leave Sarah and Ellie alone when they've already been abandoned once! I'd hate to know what they must think of me now!"

"Luckily for you, you're not the only one who left a family behind," Rodan reminded his son. "We all left at least one person, which means that we're _all_ as eager as you to find a way back. You'll have help finding a way out and no one will stand in your way."

Josh scoffed. "No _demon_ , anyway. Since Lucifer brought us here, I doubt he'd be happy to see us go for any reason. That's what's gonna make it difficult."

"We'll find a way," Dorian swore and tried not to think of Selina and Arthur cause it just made him sad. "I promise."

"Thanks," Josh told him. "Not that I believe you'd think anything else because I know, like you say, that no one actually _wants_ to be down here." He paused. "So what do you have so far? Have the two of you come up with anything?"

"We've thrown some ideas around," Rodan remarked. "But so far, nothing that will actually work. But Christian's thinking too, and we believe he might be our best chance."

"What makes you think that?" Josh questioned. "I mean, not that I believe Christian is inept, but what reason would there be to have so much faith in him?"

"Well, he was brought to earth and put in a body with a spell, right?" Rodan asked. "Maybe he'll know what that spell is, say it, and we'll all be able to leave."

"Does he know it?" Josh asked.

"That's where the problem lies," Dorian told him. "He doesn't know it. Only John does. So Christian would need to contact him somehow and ask what spell he used, but so far, we know of no way to communicate between here and outside. And we won't be able to leave until we find one, unfortunately."

* * *

In another cavern nearby, AnnaLynne was spread out on the ground and looking up at the ceiling over her head. She'd been crying for a while, but she couldn't anymore. Then, she suddenly felt something appear underneath her hand. She picked it up and saw it was a piece of folded paper. She looked it over. It was a note from Gregory! Even though it didn't sound like him at all. She read it over, her brain recognizing every bit, even the 'I love you' and his desire to marry her. And ordinarily that would have thrilled her, but what thrilled her more now was the possibility that she had in her hands a way to communicate. If Gregory had sent her a note here somehow, maybe she could send one back. She put the note against her heart and laughed loudly, just an outpouring of emotion.

Then Dorian poked his head in. "Are you all right? I heard you crying. Sorry I didn't come sooner."

"I was sad, but I'm good now," she said with a smile and waved the paper at him.

"What's that?" Dorian asked and reached for it.

"No, don't!" AnnaLynne slapped his hand away so he wouldn't look at her private letter. "This is from Gregory to me. I don't know how it got here, but if it came, maybe I can send something back to him! Isn't that a good thought, Daddy?"

"Yes!" Dorian nodded. "Having a backup plan is good, especially if asking Lucifer to let us out doesn't go well. It probably won't, but you never know. Some miracle could happen." He shrugged. "Now, I won't try and read it, I promise. But how did you get that note?"

"I don't know," AnnaLynne and wiped her eyes. "I just…I was thinking about him and it appeared suddenly. That's all I can tell you."

"Do you think you could send a note back?" Dorian questioned. "I know it might not be possible, but it's worth a shot. We've been looking for a way to contact Christian's father, John, so we can find out what spell he used to bring Christian into his new body. That could help all of us."

"I will definitely try to send a note back if that's the reason why," AnnaLynne nodded.

"Good, thank you," Dorian told her. He then turned on his heel and was about to walk out of the cavern when he turned back and hugged his daughter hard. "I'm so sorry about this," he apologized. "I'm so sorry that I sent you to the Amazon and put your life in danger, and made you lose Gregory."

"Thanks," AnnaLynne told him after peeking at the note once more and then sticking it in her pocket. "But in all honesty, you really only have to apologize for the Amazon. The rest of it is having benefits that even surprise _me!"_

"Really?" Dorian smiled. "And just what do you mean by that? Can you tell me?"

"You'll find out when we get back," AnnaLynne assured him. " _Very soon_ after we get back, I bet."

"Now I want to know even more," Dorian smiled. "But I'll leave you to your letter writing. I hope it works. I hope you can reach Gregory."

"You and me both, Daddy," AnnaLynne agreed. "Especially if it means a way to get us out of here and back home!"

Dorian smiled at her and then left her be.

Once he was gone, she took the note out of her pocket, red it over once more, and then zapped up a clean sheet, writing on it a message that she hoped would get her point across, but not scare Gregory into taking back what he'd written

 _Hi Gregory, it's AnnaLynne!_

 _The other demons and I are stuck underneath some volcano and it's dark and hot and fiery. My hair smells like ash all the time and I hate it. But never fear. We're all trying to think up plans to come back home because we miss everyone we left behind._

 _I hope this will reach you just like your letter to me appeared out of nowhere, because it could be the way for us to get back to the outside. Then, when I see you again, we can talk about what was in the note you wrote me. I found it very sweet and intriguing. Please send a response when you get this and read it._

 _Love from,_

 _AnnaLynne_

After she finished, unsure of what to do next, she gripped the note tight, shut her eyes, and thought of Gregory, picturing him getting the note somewhere only he would find it, like under his pillow. She was very surprised then when the note disappeared. Surprised and pleased, hoping that it went exactly where it was supposed to go and all the demons' hopes would be answered.

* * *

The next morning, Gregory woke up and found a surprise under his pillow. He slipped it out and peered at it. It was a piece of paper. A piece of paper with a note on it from AnnaLynne!

"What the hell?" He whispered to himself. "This can't be happening. I can't be getting letters from her. Maybe I'm just so worked up about her being gone that I'm writing letters to myself in my sleep and then signing her name to them."

It seemed like a reasonable enough explanation, but then he read the note over again and realized that the note was not written in his hand and had information in it that he couldn't possibly know, like how the demons were being trapped under a volcano. Maybe the letter really _was_ from her, even though there was no logical reason for how it got to him. He couldn't explain her handwriting on the note any other way. So, even though he knew it was crazy, he got another piece of paper out of his desk and wrote one more missive.

 _I know this might sound crazy, but I think you sent me a letter. I found it under my pillow. It said you wanted me to let you know when I got it, so I am. I hope this finds you soon and you get yourself home because yes, we_ do _need to talk about something I mentioned in my original letter._

 _I really miss you and want to see you soon._

 _Love,_

 _Gregory_

He then watched in surprise as, while his brain filled with thoughts of AnnaLynne, his letter disappeared, presumably to get back to her.

* * *

"I can't believe Christian is gone!" Freya yelled at John after finally being able to remove herself from her son's empty room where she'd been tucked under his covers since he'd gone missing. His room at their house, of course. Not the one at the house he shared with Jill. "Did you know that he was gonna be gone and not care? And why didn't you think to warn me at least before you did it so I could mentally prepare myself?"

"Because you know you wouldn't just have mentally prepared yourself!" John shouted back. "You would have tried to stop me and I couldn't have that. We needed to get rid of all the demons!"

"Including your son?" Freya cried. "You realize that it was your own need to have a super powerful child in the first place that brought the demons here."

"Exactly," John nodded. "I've realized the error of my ways and am working to fix it."

"Well, you didn't do a very good job!" Freya told him. "If all the demons are gone, then why did I see Selina at the market the other day? And why is Ingrid still dating that Ben? He and his brother are demons too. I think you were lied to, John. Or there was some loophole that Lucifer neglected to mention when you made your deal with him."

"Are you certain that Selina and Ben are still here?" John questioned. "That can't be! Are you trying to get out your frustration by making me irritated?"

"No, I'm telling you the truth!" Freya cried. "I'm trying to _help_ you so that when Ingrid and Ben come you won't do something stupid. Or at least I hope it'll be less likely."

As if on cue, their daughter Ingrid strode in with her boyfriend Ben walking behind her. He was half-demon, so based on Lucifer's loophole that half-demons and newly turned demons reverted back to what they were before their change, it was fine for him to be around, but since John didn't _know_ about the loophole, naturally, he was shocked.

"Ben!" He exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"We're dating, remember?" Ingrid told her father, her dark eyes concerned. "You know that. You've been against it ever since you first met him. Are you okay?" She noted her father's wide-eyed look. "Why does it seem like you've seen a ghost or something?"

"Because he believed that the spell he and his friends did would send all the demons away," Freya replied dryly. "And he's a bit surprised that Ben is still here."

"Are you really?" Ingrid snapped. "Are you really so against demons that you want me without a guy I like? Is winning that important to you? And while we're on the subject, get all your feelings out. Do you feel bad that I'm still here and Christian was sent away? You can admit it. It's something I've always sensed."

"Now don't talk nonsense," John told her. "As best I can, I love both you and your brother and the loss of either or both of you displeases me greatly."

"Sure it does," Ingrid replied. "We just came to get a sweater for me, and then we'll be out of your way so you can pretend that Ben doesn't exist. And if he _had_ gone away, I wish I would have been able to go with him! I would have been much happier that way!" She then grabbed Ben by the hand, giving him just enough time to give John a momentary smirk before she pulled him upstairs to get her coat and then they left again, slamming the door behind them.

"I hope you're proud of yourself," Freya remonstrated her husband, hands on hips. "Not only do I lose one child because of your shenanigans, the other one wishes she was gone too. Do you have no scruples or conscience at all? Do you always feel the need to say whatever comes into your head without thinking of the consequences?"

"I'm only doing what I think is best," John told her firmly. "And I have no intention of changing."

"I hope that changes," Freya told him. "Otherwise, you're going to be a very lonely man someday. Maybe someday soon." Then, wanting to be alone, she stormed off to her and John's bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

It was after she closed it that she noticed the small sheet of paper on her pillow. Curious about it cause she was certain it hadn't been there before, she picked it up, read it, and felt her heart lighten. It was a note from Christian! He'd found a way to communicate from wherever John and the others had sent him! He wasn't lost to her forever! She thought about running in and telling John, but another part of her wanted him to suffer a little more for how his rash actions had affected her emotionally.

But then she decided against it when the note plainly stated that Christian needed John's help in order to get back home.

"Christian found a way to send us a note from whatever hell you banished him to," Freya informed him. "And he claims that the spell you used to bring his demon self into a human body when he was born could be used again to get all the demons back. Will you do it for him? Or will you be selfish and refuse to help?"

"You've put me in a very difficult position, Freya!" John growled. "I want to bring back our son, for sure, but how can I do that if it means bringing back all the other demons too?"

"The first time you did it, you only brought one," Freya told him. "Surely you can modify it when it comes time to use it. You don't have to bring back every demon. I'm sure the world would thank you for leaving some of the more troublesome ones behind. But at least bring Christian. You owe him that."

"All right," John nodded. "I suppose I do. I'll see if I can find the spell and send it to him so he can bring himself and the less unruly demons back. I suppose I can stand that."

"Well, how big of you," Freya spat. "I'm so proud of you for doing what you should be doing anyway."

John made a face at her and went to try and find the spell while she read Christian's note over and over again.

* * *

Knowing that they had a potential way out made all the demons braver when Lucifer finally showed up to taunt them about their current situation as they called him in to make a deal.

He let them get the words out, and then laughed in their faces. "Isn't this sweet?" He drawled. "You honestly think that after going to all that work to bring you back where you belong, I'm just going to let you out because of some sob story about missing your families? If you'd been smart enough to do as you were told and not mix with the other species, you wouldn't be feeling this pain. The pain is your punishment. I don't make deals with demons. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a massage that I'm late for. Goodbye."

They watched him turn his back and take a few steps before he turned on his heel and walked back, getting eye to eye with Josh. "On second thought," he said, "There might be a way I'd be willing to let you all go. But I doubt you'd want to pay the price, you being family oriented and all."

"What do you mean?" Josh got out. "What do you want from us?"

"Not from 'us'," Lucifer corrected. "Only you can give me what I want and free yourself and your friends from this torment. But like I said, I doubt you'll do it."

"I might," Josh replied, sweat beading on his brow. "Tell me what it is you want."

"Well, before I brought you all down here, I took some time to enjoy the human world," Lucifer said. "I went to a mall and ran into a little girl…I believe she's your daughter. If you have a daughter named Eleanor, that is."

"Ellie?" Josh asked, his eyes narrowing. "What do you want with Ellie?"

"She's my price," Lucifer told him. "And a spirited little girl at that. When she gets to be a bit bigger, I know I'll enjoy her company immensely. So there's your deal. Do you want to take it?"

"You bastard!" Josh cried. "You will _never_ get even one finger on Ellie! You'll never so much as breathe on her!" He tried to jump him and give him a punch in the nose, but of course, Lucifer deftly avoided him and he went crashing into a rock wall and landed crumpled on the floor.

"I gave you a choice," he said when he turned Josh around and saw blood pouring from his noise. "You didn't take it. Now, I'm going to have Elli, whether you want me to or not. I hope you can face that pain along with the grief everyone else here will give you for depriving them of an easy way home."

"I thought you were late for a massage," Dorian countered, his voice cold. "If that's what you want, go have it and leave us be. You've made your point."

"You're right," Lucifer chuckled. "I have." He then strode out, leaving Dorian, Rodan, and Christian to patch up the wounded Josh.


	4. Trying To Beat The Devil

"I don't understand!" Sybil exclaimed. "How is it that so many other demons are gone and I'm still here? Am I just singularly blessed or what?"

"Well, I don't know," Klaus shook his head and kissed her. "But I'm glad you didn't go away with the rest of them. I would have missed you."

"You would have missed me?" Sybil questioned. "Why?"

"Because I just would!" Klaus told her. He knew what words should come out of his mouth next. Sybil deserved to hear them. But saying those three little words out loud was always a difficult thing for him.

Sybil must have noticed his struggle. She smiled and put a hand on his arm. "You know what?" She asked. "I love you too."

"I-" Klaus blushed. "How do you know that's what I want to say?"

"Because I just...I sense it," Sybil replied. "I understand if it's difficult for you to get out, though. I have trouble saying it sometimes myself."

"You didn't have trouble saying it to me," Klaus reminded her.

Sybil shrugged and rested her head on his shoulder. "I guess that just goes to show how much I mean it."

"I mean it too," Klaus told her after swallowing and taking a deep breath. "I-I love you too, Sybil." He took her hand, kissed it, and they both lapsed into contented silence, which lasted only a short while before they were joined by a very unwelcome visitor.

"Well, hello there, Sybil," Lucifer greeted her in a silky voice. "Lovely to see you. I bet now you're just dying to know why your father and the others have been banished back home and you're still here. Is that true?"

"Maybe," Sybil narrowed her eyes at him and stood up. "Did you come here to answer that question? Or take me, finally?"

"Oh, no!" Lucifer shook his head and reached out to play with Sybil's hair until Klaus couldn't take it anymore and slapped his hand away.

"What do you want?" He snapped. "Just tell us and get out." He paused and eyed Sybil. "Or better yet, tell me and leave her out of it. You've put her through enough already!"

"Klaus, it's okay!" Sybil protested. "I can handle him! I know him better than you do! Don't get into more trouble than you can help!"

"Yes, listen to her," Lucifer grinned. "Or don't...that would be more fun, to tell you the truth."

Klaus knew that he should listen to Sybil. He knew that was the sensible thing to do. But of course, he wasn't the sensible type. He was just too angry!

"What is it that you want?" He asked again, grabbing Lucifer by the collar, an action that made Sybil gasp with shock.

"Oh, isn't that funny?" Lucifer drawled, not intimidated at all by Klaus' show of temper. "You're very similar to your father when it comes to not understanding limits or showing me my due respect."

"If you've met Mikael, and I'm sure you have," Klaus said, bearing his teeth, "You should know that he's not my father, even though I believed he was for many years."

"Well, enough of this banter," Lucifer decided and detached himself from Klaus' grip, just as Christopher began crying. "I came here for one thing and one thing only, and it won't even be difficult for you to part with."

"Oh, yeah?" Sybil asked. "What is it?"

"Your son, of course," Lucifer got out. "He's very powerful you know. A bit of a monster, but I'll find a way to put that to good use."

"Our son is _not_ a monster!" Sybil cried, jumping to her feet and wanting to strangle him just as Klaus nearly had. "He may be different, he may be difficult, but he is no monster. We're going to make sure of that."

"Yes, and you are not going anywhere near him," Klaus said after a round of derisive laughter. "If that's what you think, you have no idea what you are talking about, and who you are messing with."

"Are you trying to threaten me?" Lucifer asked. "Oh, that's hilarious that you think you can do that and believe it will have an effect."

"Will you go now that we've told you there's not a chance in the place where you live that you're gonna get our son?" Sybil questioned. "What more could you possibly want with us?"

"Nothing, really," Lucifer replied and examined his nails before flicking some dust off the cuff of his black suit jacket. "And you're not as fun to argue with as I thought you would be. I'll be on my way...for now."

"Good!" Sybil yelled after him. "Go! But just know that when you come back, we won't be alone! You'll be greatly outnumbered and we'll kick your ass!"

"Oh, I can't wait!" Lucifer told her and gave her a little wave. "It's interesting to see that some of your husband's impudence has rubbed off on you in the span of just a few minutes. I like it. I didn't think you could be any more spirited than you were before, but apparently, I was wrong. All right, if this is going to be how it is...if you don't want things to be simple, I shall give you time to make up your little army. I can't wait to see the two or three people you manage to bring along with you."

"Oh, it will be more than that," Klaus assured him. "Especially when we think of how many of our friends lost loved ones when you made the demons go away. It's a lot. More than two or three, I promise."

"Like I said," Lucifer repeated, his hand on the doorknob, "I can't wait. I can't wait to defeat your silly army and take your son and be done with all this nonsense. Goodbye."

"Goodbye!" Sybil replied. "And good riddance!" She paused and opened the door. "And Klaus is not my husband!"

Once the door was slammed shut and they were alone, they finally went to attend to Christopher, who was still crying.

"Would you like me to go in first?" Klaus questioned. "Or do you want to?"

"I will," Sybil replied. "I think I need the practice."

So they went into their son's bedroom where he was in his crib, screaming his head off and looking just like he always did in a fit of temper.

"Oh, my god," Sybil got out. "Why in the hell is he furry?"

"I'm not quite certain," Klaus shrugged and watched her pick him up and study him. "I think it's the werewolf gene I gave him acting up, but like I said, I can't tell you for sure." He paused. "And that's the only thing you're worried about? Not the horns or anything?"

"No, because I'm used to that," Sybil replied. "Those are demon characteristics."

"Right," Klaus nodded. "Of course." He then watched as Sybil calmed their son down, doing it surprisingly quickly for her first time. "I'm impressed," he remarked and kissed her. "I thought it would be more of a challenge for you to deal with him like this for the first time."

"Oh, no, of course not," Sybil shook her head. "The werewolf stuff is a surprise, but remember that this is not my first child. I didn't pay as much attention to Eric as I should have, but I didn't completely ignore him."

"Should I leave you two alone?" Klaus asked as Christopher calmed down. "Or would you like me to stay?"

"Nope, you can go," Sybil smiled and sat down on the spare bed. "I think we'll be all right."

"Yes," Klaus nodded with a grin. "I think you will too."

* * *

It wasn't long after that that Klaus and Sybil assembled their army, made up primarily of friends and relatives who had lost a demon loved one and of course, were more than willing to fight to get them back.

"Sorry if I'm a bit worked up," Selina sniffled and took yet another kleenex out of her purse. "With the school gone and no husband, I don't have much to do other than think about what I lost and it's just awful!"

"It'll be okay," Elijah promised her, giving her a hug as Amy fumed nearby. "That's what the point of this whole meeting is: to figure out a way to get back those we lost."

"Yes, yes, yes," Amy snapped and literally pulled them apart. "But crying won't help anything, will it? Buck up!"

"What is the matter with you?" Elijah stood up. "That's not the way to treat a poor woman who's grieving!"

"Oh, but it's okay to cuddle with your ex-wife while your current wife is mourning your daughter?" Amy spat. "Do you even care that Lily is gone? Or is this more about getting back together with your ex-wife?"

"We've been over that," Elijah replied through his teeth. "I miss Lily very much. I have to wonder if you do, since you can't even muster up one tear for her loss. Are you made of stone or something?"

"Not everyone cries to show grief," Amy pointed out. "I grieve for Lily in my own way: privately."

It didn't take long for Selina to realize what she was in the middle of. "You know what?" She asked, sniffling, standing up from the sofa, and sticking the tissue she was using in her bra. "I think I need to get away for a bit. I'm gonna go in the kitchen and get a drink, then fix my mascara. I'm sure I look horrifying."

"Of course not," Elijah smiled at her. "You look beautiful!"

Selina teared up again. "You know how long it's been since a man that was not one of my sons or my friends called me beautiful? Much too long. Why don't you tell Amy she's beautiful too?"

"You stay out of this!" Amy cried. "I can handle my own husband, thank you. I don't need your help!"

"Fine," Selina scoffed and blew her nose. "I would have preferred a 'Thank you', but whatever."

When the bathroom door was slammed shut, Elijah faced Amy. "Would you stop this?" He whispered angrily. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Oh, that is just...how blind and self-centered are you to expect me to care about your feelings when you clearly don't give a damn about mine!" Amy got out. "I think I'm beginning to see why you and Selina got divorced!"

When Selina didn't come out of the bathroom after twenty minutes, Arthur went in to check on her. "Are Elijah and Amy done fighting?" She asked when she saw him. "I don't think I should be around them until they get their feelings out, cause I know I was the cause of the fight and I don't want to make things worse."

"You don't have to think that way," Arthur told her. "How they choose to react to your natural grief is their choice, not yours, as is any fighting that might happen because of it. I mean, it's not like you're going out of your way to seek Elijah's attention, are you?"

"No!" Selina shook her head. "I love your father!"

"Exactly," Arthur nodded. "What do you have to worry about, then?"

"Nothing," Selina replied matter-of-factly. "Now come with me, we have battles to plan!" He opened the door and heard a clunk and a cry.

"Damn it, Arthur!" Katherine told him. "I was on the other side of the door! I think you broke my nose!"

"I'm sorry," Arthur apologized and helped her to her feet, then got her some tissue. "But it's not like it will be broken forever, will it?"

"No," Katherine said in a nasally voice. "But it still hurts!"

"Do you need to use the bathroom?" Selina questioned. "We can leave if you do."

"No, I actually came to see what was taking so long for you to come back," Katherine replied, taking her hands off her nose and then rooting around in her purse for cotton balls and makeup remover. "You still have some eyeliner where it shouldn't be. Want me to get it for you?" She offered.

"You carry that stuff around in your purse?" Selina questioned.

"Yeah," Katherine nodded, got some liquid on a cotton ball, and then urged Arthur to move aside a bit so she could reach his mother and help clean her off.

"Thanks for your help," Selina told her. "This new, kinder phase of our relationship is taking some getting used to for me, but I like it."

"Yeah," Katherine nodded. "Me too."

They joined everyone else then and Klaus cleared his throat. "Our making battle plans is even more important for Sybil and me now Lucifer has come to our house and openly threatened our child. He wants to take him."

"Probably for some horrible purpose!" Sybil added. "That's why I told him we were all going to band together and kick his butt!"

"He threatened your child?" Sarah asked, thinking of Ellie and ignoring Junior, who was trying to comfort her by taking her hand. "That's terrible! I hope he isn't thinking of doing something like that with Ellie."

"Of course not," Junior said. "Ellie will be all right. She's not a demon, or even half one! What could he possibly want with her?"

"It's something I don't want to think about," Sarah shuddered.

"Why are you here?" Selina asked Junior. "I would think that this is the last place you would want to be."

"I didn't even invite him," Sarah informed her sister. "He just invited himself."

"And with good reason!" Junior remarked. "I found out, (don't ask me how), that John was part of the plot to make the demons go away. This is my way of making restitution."

"I wonder how you want me to thank you for your support," Sarah replied dryly. "You might talk the good talk, but you're kind of transparent."

"I'm not here because I want to win brownie points with you and get in your pants, all right?" Junior told her. "You'll probably never believe otherwise, but I'm not!"

"Based on our past history, you can't blame me for being skeptical," Sarah said. "You know I love Josh, I know you still want me, Josh is out of the way now..."

"And I just want to bond with Ellie," Junior finished. "You and Josh can be married and have babies and whatever. It doesn't matter to me."

"We'll see about that," Sarah told him, still not quite able to believe his speech."

"That's why I'm here too," Gwen added. "I mean, I lost Sybil's father, but my ex-husband was also part of the plot to make the demons go away, so...I'm here for both reasons."

"And Malachai," Jill added, taking Sarah's hand. "We're still not talking to him for making Josh and Christian disappear."

"What does your ex-husband have against my father?" Sybil questioned Gwen. "Why would he want to make him leave?"

"It kills him to see me happy with any man besides him and that was your father," Gwen replied. "A casualty of Mikael's petty, spiteful jealousy. I tried to make them get along, but it didn't work out how I wanted it to."

"How did you want it?" Sybil asked. "Did you want to be with both men?"

"No!" Gwen shook her head. "Well, maybe a little cause the attention is nice, but not really," she looked appealingly at Sybil. "You believe me, don't you?"

"Yes," Sybil sighed. "I suppose I do."

"Before we make a batttle plan, which is what we're all here for, remember," Klaus reminded them, "I think we should ask Jill if any plan we have has a chance of succeeding." He peered at Jill. "Will we win if we fight him?" He asked. "Or will we lose?"

"I don't know," Jill shrugged. "The visions come when they want to. I can't just turn them on and off."

"Try, would you?" Klaus implored.

"Fine," Jill sighed, shutting her eyes and trying to focus. But nothing came this time. "Sorry," she said. "But if I do see something that would aid in our fight, I will let you know."

"Good," Klaus nodded.

"But to just answer the question, I think we have a chance," Jill added. "We're all capable. We're all smart, we all have something to fight for. I think if we band together and cooperate, we can defeat Lucifer, even if he is the devil, and set our loved ones free!"

"I like the sound of that," Selina smiled. "Thanks, Jill."

"Yeah," Arthur added, putting his hands on his mother's shoulders and thinking of Lily's smile. "Thanks a lot, Jill."

"You're welcome," Jill told them. "I just hope I'm right."


	5. On One Condition

After the meeting about how to defeat Lucifer, Selina took some time for herself. She just tucked herself in bed, sobbed, and didn't talk to anyone for two days straight. During the afternoon of the third day, she heard a knock on the door. "Come in,' she called weakly and then flopped back onto the pillows.

A few seconds later the bedroom door opened and three of her sons strode in.

"What are you three doing here?" She asked as Gregory helped her sit up. "Not that I'm not happy to see you."

"We wanted to cheer you up," Gregory replied. "I brought you a pizza, even though every fiber of me wanted to get you something healthy like a salad."

Despite her sad mood, Selina grinned when she opened the box and saw a large double cheese and pepperoni pizza. "Oh, you shouldn't have!" She clapped. "Thank you!"

Next, Adrian plunked a large Coke bottle down on the bedside table. "Thank you, too. Did you put any rum in that?" She asked.

"Mom, don't think I don't forget what you tell me," Adrian told her firmly. "No alcohol when you're upset. This is just soda."

"You're a good son," Selina told him.

And after Sam gave her a CD of all her favorite songs, she smiled at them all. "This makes me feel so good!" She enthused. "I just might feel good enough to confront the devil tomorrow!"

"Confront the devil?" Gregory questioned. "Mother, are you sure that's a good idea? What if you get hurt?"

"Oh, I probably will," Selina acknowledged with a sigh. "He'll probably hate me for trying to bargain for the demons and interfering with whatever plans he has for them. But I have to try anyway. I can't just let all my people be taken and leave us miserable!" She put a hand on Gregory's face. "You understand that, don't you?"

"Yes," Gregory nodded and wrapped his large hand around his mother's smaller wrist. "I just don't want to lose you. Be careful, please?"

"Yes," Selina nodded. "Believe me, I'll try. The last thing I want is to be dead." She then looked at Adrian. "Have you checked on your father? I know he's still got Sybil so he's most likely fine, but I'm still a bit worried. I know he doesn't handle emotional upheaval well."

"Oh, I remember," Adrian nodded. "Believe me. Actually, Molly and I have visited them a couple of times. It gives us something to do, and Molly also says that it makes her feel better about John's part in all this to help those he hurt."

"That's nice," Selina smiled. "That makes me happy." Then she turned her attention to Sam. "How are you?" She asked. "How are little Sammy and Leslie?"

"We're all fine, but since the demon club is gone, I've had to go on the road more for work, so I've seen much less of my son, wife, and dog than I would like, but it's better than being broke," Sam shrugged.

"Don't worry," Selina assured him. "Once I get this whole mess fixed, the club will be back in business and you'll have more time with your family, I promise."

Sam chuckled. "He's getting bigger now, Sammy. Leslie told me that he even took a few steps the other day. I was at a job, so I didn't see it the first time around, though."

"I'm sorry," Selina took his hand. "I had to miss some of your biggest moments too because of the complicated nature of your childhood, but...I'm sure she got a video. Did she?"

"Yeah," Sam smiled. "At least there's that."

There was a moment of silence and then Selina got out of bed and gave each son a long, tight hug. "Thank you for coming," she told them. "It was nice to see you and it really cheered me up. But I'm better now, I swear. You can go back and spend time with someone else if you'd like."

Adrian and Sam both nodded, said one last 'Goodbye', and then left, but Gregory stayed, climbing into bed beside her and putting his arms around her. "Since AnnaLynne's still gone, would you mind if I stayed a little while longer? I mean, I heard from her through some sort of weird magic so I know she's okay, but it's still lonely."

"Sure," Selina nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "I would like that. And I'm so glad you heard from her and that she's okay. That makes me happy."

"Yeah," Gregory smiled. "Me too."

* * *

The next day, Selina quickly got dressed and began work trying to figure out how to summon Lucifer so they could have a talk. She didn't have to do the hard work of summoning him from hell. That she knew. But how else to reach him? He wouldn't just have a phone number. She went to the now empty and silent offices of the demon government and looked through a safe Dorian had in his office that contained a bunch of important documents. She wasn't sure the way to summon Lucifer was in there, but it could be. She leafed through the papers and then heard a heard a voice nearby.

"Looking for me?" It asked. That was when Selina looked up and saw him, getting up quickly from her squatting position and brushing dust and dirt off her pink dress because it was unsettling to be looked down upon by someone with such an air of darkness about them. "I wondered when I was going to hear from you, Lonely Heart. I just knew you were going to complain."

"How do you know about Lonely Heart?" Selina questioned, trying to keep her voice steady as she backed into the desk and felt the back of her legs hit it.

"Well, that was a nice little reign of terror you wrought for a while there, wasn't it?" Lucifer grinned, getting close enough to her that their chests touched. "It was a shame that it was for so short a time, but I what I saw was absolutely marvelous!"

"I'm not like that anymore," Selina told him quietly but firmly. "And I won't ever be again."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Lucifer told her. He looked her up and down and grimaced at her bright pink dress. "What is that you're wearing? It's kind of horrific. Way too cheerful. I think you're overcompensating!"

"I am _not_!" Selina shouted. "I like this color, you judgmental asshole! Now give me back my family and my friends or else!"

Lucifier just stared at her for a few seconds and burst out laughing. "That's cute," he told her. "But being told off by someone who's dressed like a giant pink cupcake isn't very threatening at all. Hasn't anyone told you that if you want someone to do something for you, the last thing you should do is insult them first?"

"Oh, don't," Selina scoffed. "You and I both know that whatever I ask of you, you wouldn't give it to me, so I can insult you as much as I want. It eases my feelings of anger." She paused. "How did you find me? I didn't even summon you or anything." She paused and her eyes narrowed. "Have you been spying on me? Is that how you knew?"

"Well, you realize that the whole reason I took the demons away in the first place is because they chose to bond with people like you and completely ignore the job that they were meant to do, right?" Lucifer said. "That has been a concern to me, and the second it happened, I kept an eye on it. Even if those three fools hadn't called me to take the demons back, I would have done it on my own at some point."

"And there's nothing I can say or do that will convince you to bring them back?" Selina asked. "Nothing at all?"

"Well, there might be one thing, but...nah," Lucifer looked away. "Since you're so noble now, you'd never agree to it."

"I might," Selina told him. "Tell me what it is, at least."

"No!" Lucifer shook his head. "Because it would mean putting your needs above someone else's. It would require some selfishness on your part, and I sense that you just won't do it."

"Listen, you!" Selina grabbed his collar as adrenaline soared through her body. She knew it was stupid, she knew it was foolish to try and hurt the devil, but she couldn't help herself. He was making her so _angry!_ "You made me lose my husband, one of my closest friends, and many other people dear to me. So whatever you want, however selfish I have to be to get them back, I'll do it. Name your price and you'll get it!"

"You know your sister Sarah?" Lucifer grinned. "She has a little girl named Ellie. She's going to be very pretty when she grows up. I intend to make that happen. She's my price, or the demons don't come back, and you are doomed to a life of spinsterhood!" He laughed.

Selina cut him off by slapping him so hard that his head snapped back. "Good!" She cried. "I knew that would take the smirk off your stupid face!"

"So are you refusing my deal?" Lucifer asked. "Because it's the only way you'll get Dorian and the others back. And don't do what I think you might where you make the deal with me now and then take it back when I deliver my part. I've been through that before. I wasn't born yesterday."

"And you taking Ellie is the only way I'll get my husband back?" Selina asked quietly. He could tell she was serious now. "You know that I can't do that. Even if Sarah knew it would get her Josh, she wouldn't want me to sacrifice Ellie."

"I'll let you think on it for a while," Lucifer whispered in her ear. "And you can remind your sister that even if she misses Ellie, she and Josh can always have more children." Then he laughed and left her alone, with no choice but to warn Sarah about what was coming and assure her that she would stop it.

* * *

"Junior, have you seen Sarah?" Selina questioned when her grandson answered her knock.

"No, she went to see your dad," he explained. "And she took Ellie with her, thank goodness, because I have tried to bond with that kid and she really does not like me!"

"So I should go to Daddy and Christine's house?" Selina asked.

"Yeah," Junior nodded. "What do you need her for?"

"I had a meeting with Lucifer yesterday and he told me that the way all the demons will come back is if he's given Ellie in exchange. I don't know why. Maybe the devil eats children or something. Don't you think Sarah should know that?" She didn't want to just blurt out that Lucifer wanted Ellie as a plaything. It wasn't just something you blurted out.

"Oh, definitely," Junior nodded. "Go tell her."

So Selina drove to Matthew and Christine's house and let herself in with her key. After accepting affection from Matthew's hunting dogs, she walked around looking for her sister, finding Sarah crying about Josh in Matthew's arms.  
Selina was about to walk away because Sarah didn't look like she could handle any more bad news when her father noticed her.

"Selina, if you're having a bad time of it too, I have a free shoulder to cry on," he offered with a smile."

"I came to talk to Sarah, but since she's upset, it can wait," Selina replied, debating for a moment rather to leave or take the comfort her father offered. She ended up taking it as Sarah looked at her and her father left them alone to talk.

"What do you need to tell me? Is it bad news?"

"Well, there's good news too, but yes," Selina nodded. "I'll start with that: Lucifer said he'll bring the demons back soon! We'll see Josh and Dorian again!"

"Good!" Sarah exclaimed and hugged her sister. "What's the bad news?"

Selina didn't meet her sister's eyes. "In order to get them back, we have to give Lucifer Ellie."

"What?" Sarah asked, a chill going down her spine. "What do you _mean_ we have to give Lucifer my daughter if we ever want to see our husbands or any of the other demons again? You didn't say 'Yes' did you?"

"Not outright, no!" Selina shook her head. "But he seems pretty determined to have her, regardless of what I say. I promise you, however, that you won't lose her for good. I swear it to you, Sarah."

"I better not," Sarah told her. "I've already lost Josh and that was painful enough, but Ellie is just a baby, and...and my whole life! I don't know what I would do without her. There would be a hole in my heart, that's for sure."

"I know," Selina hugged her. "I'll make sure that that man doesn't get his hands on your daughter."

"Even if it means you might never see Dorian again?" Sarah asked. "That's very generous of you."

"I know what it's like to lose a child you love very much," Selina told her. "It happened with my first son and I wouldn't wish that grief on anyone, even if the alternative helps me." She paused. "Speaking of Ellie, where is she now? Who's watching her? Is she here?"

"No," Sarah shook her head. "Junior said he wanted to try and bond. I gave him the chance, but I wonder if Ellie is being nice about it. She hasn't shown much love for him since he came back. I mean, he promised her candy so she agreed to stay with him for a bit. That was nice, but I don't know how long she'll behave."

"I understand why," Selina nodded. "Are you going to relieve him of duty soon?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded. "I think I better. Who knows what kind of terror she's putting him through now?"

* * *

"Oh-sh-shaving cream!" Junior screamed. The first time it had happened, Sarah had actually been motivated by the pain in his voice to see what was wrong. He had been yelling cause Ellie had bitten him as he had tried to give her a bath and she hadn't lightened up toward him since.

"Ellie bite you again?" She chuckled as Junior came in holding up his injured hand after she came through the door. "She doesn't seem to like you since she keeps doing that. I guess you should be lucky she can't do a right hook and knock all your teeth out."

"Do you teach her to hurt people?" Junior questioned. "Does she act like this around everyone, or just me?"

"Probably just you because you're trying to be her daddy," Sarah explained. "And she doesn't like that." She paused. "However, I came to relieve you of babysitting duties. You can do something enjoyable now."

"She's only nice to me when you're in the room with us," Junior said. "Have you noticed that? Otherwise, she gets mean! If I hadn't put her to bed already, I bet she'd be trying to bite my finger off!"

Sarah sighed. "I suppose I should have a talk with her," she huffed. "You're trying to help, so you don't deserve to be hurt."

"You're damn right," Junior huffed. Then he sat down and Sarah sat down beside him. "What did Grandma have to tell you? Something good?"

"Oh, definitely not," Sarah shook her head. "Something terrible! Lucifer visited and told her that he would bring the demons back, but that he wanted Ellie in return for lord knows what reason. Well, I can guess, but I don't want to think about it."

Junior just stared at her for a minute or so, unsure of how to respond. "I'm sorry," he said at last, surprised when she let him put his arms around her and massage her back gently. "I'm sure Grandma Selina won't let anything bad happen to Ellie and I won't either. Nothing bad will happen to your daughter."

"Thank you," Sarah replied and then burst into tears. "I really...I really needed to hear that because I am _so_ scared of losing her right now. You have no idea."

"I think I'm beginning to," Junior replied, wiping the tears from her eyes with his thumb, then putting a hand on either side of her face, bringing it closer and closer to his before a shrill, upset voice sounded just as their lips met.

"No, Mommy! Don't!"

They pulled apart quickly and saw Ellie staring at them and looking absolutely heartbroken. "What about Daddy?" She asked. Then she took a pillow that was almost as big as she was, brought it over to them and started hitting Junior with it. "Don't kiss my mommy!" She yelled. "You're bad! Very bad!"

"Eleanor, stop it!" Sarah told her firmly, taking the pillow from her. "We don't hit people when we're mad at them. Or bite them. We use our words."

Ellie then put her hands on her hips. "Go away!" She told Junior. "I want my daddy!"

"I told you that Daddy can't be with us right now," Sarah reminded her. "Remember that?"

"I want Daddy!" Ellie yelled. "I want Daddy!" Then she began crying and pointed at Junior before throwing herself on the floor. "He's bad! He's bad!"

"This is why you shouldn't be up past your bedtime," Sarah sighed. She put Ellie to bed again, hoping that she would stay there this time and then went back to join Junior in the living room. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "She still has a lot to learn about proper behavior."

"I just never realized she loved Josh that much," Junior said with surprising humbleness. "Maybe it would be better if I left."

"Maybe it would," Sarah agreed. "I don't want you to keep getting hurt." She paused. "I know we've had our differences in the past, but thank you for at least trying to help me," she told him. "And never going along with the horrible things your father does. I appreciate that."

"No problem," Junior told her. Then he went to the door. and prepared to open it. "I'll be on my way now. But if you need anything that doesn't involve my directly watching Ellie, don't hesitate to give me a call. Please."

"I'll remember that," Sarah nodded. "Thank you, Sean."


	6. Finally A Father

"I'm very surprised you asked me to go on this shopping trip with you and Ellie," Junior said to Sarah. "I would think that you wouldn't want me near her and neither would she."

"Well...I think it wouldn't hurt for the two of you to try and connect," Sarah replied. "Just be patient with her and it will happen."

"I want to bond with her, but it's hard and I don't know why," Junior shrugged. "Maybe if there was some life or death situation, that would kick my feelings into gear."

"Well, let's just hope it doesn't have to come to that," Sarah said as they walked into the mall with Ellie in her arms. "Remember, you're just helping her get shoes while I go look for some new clothes and a new purse. I won't be gone very long, I swear." Then she kissed Ellie. "Be nice for Sean while Mommy gets some things she needs, all right?"

"Okay," Ellie pouted as she was put on her feet and reluctantly put her hand in Junior's. They walked to the shoe department where Sarah left them, and as a store associate came upon them, Ellie let out a cry and reached up for Junior.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Junior asked as she buried her head in his shoulder.

"Bad man," she said in a muffled voice. "Bad man!"

The 'sales associate' was actually Lucifer keeping tabs on Ellie. "Hello," he said to Junior. "Would you give me your little girl so we can get her some nice new shoes to wear?"

"No," Junior said, holding Ellie tight because he was getting bad vibes from the man too. "If you want to do anything with my daughter, you're going to do it while I'm present, or you aren't doing it at all!"

Then Lucifer made his devil face and snarled, making a grab for the little girl, but Junior deftly avoided him. Not wanting to let go of Ellie, but also not wanting to hurt her during the fight, he held her close and protected her head with one hand and arm while using his other hand to fling spell after spell in Lucifer's direction.

Eventually, as people began to stare and mutter, Lucifer decided it would be best to make his getaway, at least for the moment. When Junior was sure he was gone, he took Ellie to a bench and sat down with her. "Are you okay?" He asked her. "The bad man is gone. You don't have to be scared anymore."

"Thank you," Ellie told him and even gave him a little kiss on the cheek.

"You're welcome," Junior told her. "Now, your mother says you need new shoes. What color of shoes do you want?"

Ellie thought a moment. "Blue," she got out. So Junior got up and put her on the bench, then zapped some tiny dark blue Mary Janes onto her feet and added in a pair of sneakers since he wasn't sure what sort of shoes Sarah wanted her to have.

"There," Junior smiled. "Do those hurt your feet or are they fine."

"Good," Ellie gave a little kick.

"Wonderful," Junior smiled and picked her up again just as Sarah came running toward them, worry naked on her face.

"What happened?" She cried. "There was talk about there being some big fight!"

"I think Lucifer was at the shoe store," Junior told her. "He wanted me to give him Ellie, but I didn't. He's gone now."

"And look!" Ellie grinned big. "I got pretty new shoes!"

"Yes, you did!" Sarah smiled.

"There are tennis shoes too," Junior assured her. "I got both."

"All right, good!" Sarah nodded.

"Let's go home," Ellie suggested, clinging to Junior's neck. "I wanna go home."

"Yes," Sarah sighed. "I think we better."

"I know you'll probably want me to go back to my apartment, but if you'd like me to stay for however long...I wouldn't mind," Junior told Sarah.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Sarah shook her head. "You've already done enough for me. You probably have other things that you would rather do with your time."

"I can't think of any right now," Junior told her firmly.

* * *

They reached the apartment and when they got inside, Junior remembered that he left his wallet in the car. As he made his way out the door to go get it, Ellie got panicked and attached herself to his leg. "No!" She cried. "Don't go!"

Junior picked her up and smiled. "I'm not leaving you, sweetheart. I just need to get my wallet out of the car. Would you like to come get it with me?"

"Yes," Ellie smiled. "I want to."

So they went to the garage, got the wallet, and came back inside, sitting down on the sofa.

"Well, this is much more friendly," Sarah remarked when she came back. "It's nice that the two of you are friends now."

"I know I'll never mean as much to either of you as Josh, but...I think it's nice too," Junior replied.

"That...that's so sweet of you to say," Sarah told him. "Thank you. And thank you so much for what you did for Ellie today. For saving her life. She means the world to me."

"I know that," Junior nodded. "When he threatened to take her, I finally realized how much she meant to me too."

"Really?" Sarah questioned.

"Yes," Junior nodded. "She's our daughter and so sweet that I wouldn't want anything else bad to happen to her than it already has." He paused. "I'm sorry I left you two alone. I thought I had a good reason, but it's just what I told myself so that I wouldn't have to feel bad. But at least you found a better man in the mean time."

"Yeah, I did," Sarah nodded. "But lucky for me, now that he's not here, you finally seem to be learning a thing or two about family. And I think...I think I want to nurture that. That doesn't mean we're going to get back together. I'm not gonna sleep with you or date you or anything like that. Josh is still my husband and I'll never love anyone else. But since Ellie seems to be attached to you and doesn't want you to leave...you can have the couch until he comes back. You're on probation."

"Thank you," Junior smiled and hugged her before going to tell Ellie. "Thank you very much."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Elijah cried as Amy grabbed the bags she'd packed and headed for the front door. "You can't just leave! Not without talking to me first!"

"The fact that we need to _talk_ about why I'm leaving just shows why I need to!" Amy told him. "At least until you remember who you're married to and start to appreciate me!"

"Now come on," Elijah tried to reason with her. "I know that emotions are running high because of Lily's disappearance, but don't let it make you so mad that you do something you'll regret later."

"I am _not_ going to regret this!" Amy cried. " _I_ am your wife, but since you're clearly more interested in coddling Selina, I surrender! I'm leaving so you can have a chance to do what you want because we all know that once you make up your mind to do something, there's no changing it." She opened the door and was preparing to make her way to the front step when Elijah grabbed her, turned her around, and kissed her hard.

"No, you don't!" Amy cried and slapped him. "You can't just put the moves on me when I finally made up my mind to do what's right for myself. It's not fair!"

"Give me twenty-four hours," Elijah requested. "Just twenty four hours to make up for the terrible way I've behaved and if you still feel horrible tomorrow, I'll let you leave and won't try and stop you again. Please."

"All right, I suppose I could give you that," Amy sighed. "But only if it's just you and me in that time. No Selina, no Klaus, no anyone else who would put our attention elsewhere. Is that fair? We'll even unplug the phones if we have to."

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "Rhat's fair. Let's do it. And thank you, Amy. Thank you for this last chance."

"Well, you can't say I'm unreasonable," Amy told him and took off her coat. "See you in bed."

"Yes," Elijah nodded and then picked her up and put her over his shoulder. "You sure will." He set her down and then went to unplug all the phones and lock all the doors as she had requested before going back to the room and letting her undress him.

"I have to do this fast," she whispered, her lips against his earlobe as she practically tore off everything he had on. "Before you realize what you've agreed to and change your mind."

"I would never," Elijah told her, putting his arms around her and pulling her close to him while kissing her neck. "I don't want you to leave. I want you to _stay_!"

"Well, I should hope so!" Amy told him. "So I'm very glad to hear that!" She then shut her eyes as he removed her underwear, parted her legs, and then began pleasuring her with his tongue in a leisurely fashion.

"Yeah," Amy chuckled. "That's good! Do you know how long it's been since we've done this? Too long!"

Elijah paused. "You don't have to tell me," he replied and went back to what he was doing until she gripped the sides of the mattress tight and climaxed.

"Let me guess," she breathed as she looked at him wide-eyed. "You want to have your turn now?"

"No," Elijah shook his head and began kissing up her stomach, running his tongue around her belly button, and then sucking gently on her nipples. "I was thinking of focusing on you, but if you're too tired and can't handle any more for a bit, we can wait."

"No, I'm not tired," Amy told him. "Please keep going. I can handle it."

He pleasured her for a little bit longer, and then looked deep into her eyes, whispered, "I love you," as his fingers caressed her face and stroked her tangled red hair, and then he buried himself deep inside her, over and over again.

"Are you all right?" he asked when he paused for a moment. Her face was sweaty and her whole body seemed warm.

"Yes, I'm fine," Amy panted, her cheeks red and her eyes bright. "I'm enjoying myself immensely."

"Good," Elijah smiled. "But remember, if you want to do anything else in the next twenty-four hours, don't hesitate to say so. We don't have to stay in bed the whole time if it'll make us too tired."

"Well, I know that," Amy smiled and gave him a wink. "We have to get up to eat and go to the bathroom sometime!"


	7. The Wheels Start Turning

At first, Junior was sure Sarah had seemed pleased or at least all right with her idea to let him stay, but it didn't take long for her mood to change, strangely and inexplicably. It started out one Saturday soon after the mall incident when Junior decided to make bacon and eggs for breakfast.

Ellie was very enthusiastic about the idea, but when Junior asked Sarah if she would like some too, she shook her head and snapped at him after rising from bed when he brought her coffee, leaving the door to her room open behind him so the good smells would waft in. "How could you make all that? The coffee, the bacon? It's going to make me sick! Are you _trying_ to irritate me? Jeez!" She sped to the kitchen and poured the coffee down the sink before he could stop her.

"What...what do you want instead?" Junior questioned. "What can I make you?"

"Just a minute," Sarah said, walking somewhat unsteadily to the bathroom. She nearly fell but Junior caught her and said, "Where was it that you wanted to go?"

"The bathroom," Sarah replied. "I don't know why because I just went two seconds ago! And I was up like, three or four times last night!" She then stood up and headed for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked, taking a break from her bacon.

"I don't know," Junior sighed. "I might have a suspicion, but I don't know for sure. Mommy just doesn't feel good right now."

"What is _wrong_ with her?" Ellie asked. She was beginning to look frightened as they heard Sarah be sick in the bathroom. But before Junior could try and explain, or do anything more then hug the little girl, there was the sound of a toilet flushing and Sarah re-emerged.

"Ellie wants to know if you're feeling all right," Junior said to her as Ellie, for the first time, clung to him and looked at her mother like she was a dog that would bite. "Are you?"

"No, not really," Sarah shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck, but it's not your fault, Ellie Bean. I'm sorry I scared you." She smiled and held out her arms and then Ellie got comfortable enough to inch toward her mother and give her a big hug.

"All right," Junior remarked once they separated. "Do you feel able to eat anything now? Toast and maybe some tea at the least?"

"Yes," Sarah nodded. "Let's start with that." She yawned. "I'll be in my bedroom if you don't mind."

"Maybe that's best," Junior nodded. "Get some rest and take care of yourself so we can nip this thing in the bud and get you well again. And I'll look after Ellie. Don't worry."

"Good," Sarah said with a sigh. "I won't." She then went back to bed and waited for Junior to bring her the toast and tea he made for her, and then, after he watched her eat and drink it all, she fell asleep and Junior left her alone, closing and locking her bedroom door behind him.

* * *

Since his offer to make breakfast hadn't gone well, Junior did his best to stay clear of Sarah until whatever was going on with her passed. That meant that he spent most of the day with Ellie or alone, but just after he set her down for a nap, Sarah emerged from the bedroom where she'd been confined for several hours, her eyes red and puffy, her face wet, as she ran at him and threw her arms around him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I was harsh with you this morning!" She sniffled. "Here you were trying to do something nice for me and I treated you like garbage! Please forgive me? Please! Don't leave me like Josh! I don't want to be alone!" To his shock, she kissed him then, a real kiss on the lips, long and deep.

He tried not to kiss back because this was probably some sort of weird test or something and if he kissed back, she'd remember and hate him for it. But after she gave him what had to be the most wounded look in the world and asked, "Why aren't you kissing me back? Don't you love me?" That was the last straw. He gave in, though he knew it was wrong, and kissed her back, even letting himself enjoy it, at least for the moment.

But he was the one who ended it. "That...that was nice," he said with a smile. "But I'm not going anywhere, regardless of if you kiss me or not." He paused. "Why are you so scared I'll leave you when before what you were scared of is me being near you at all?"

"Because...because I think I know what's going on with me and I'm afraid that if I tell you, it's going to freak you out," Sarah told him. "I think...I'm pregnant."

"What?" Junior asked. "Really?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded. "The last time I felt this horrible and out of control was when I was pregnant with Ellie. Actually, this time is worse cause the kid is gonna be part demon and I don't even know what that means or what's going to happen. If Josh was here, I could ask him, but I can't, cause he's not."

"Grandma is still here," Junior reminded her. "I bet she could help you."

"You're right," Sarah nodded. "She could. I'll have to ask her sometime. That will relieve my worry a little bit, I hope."

There was silence as Josh helped Sarah to the couch. "So you know for sure that you're pregnant, or are you just guessing? Cause I sort of suspected that too."

"How would you even know the signs?" Sarah scoffed. "Did you just blame the temper on hormones and take it from there?"

"No," Junior shook his head. "The only way you would be ill at all is if you were pregnant. Vampires don't just get sick, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Sarah conceded. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Junior nodded. "I suppose I had some of that coming."

"I didn't mean to scare Ellie. I hope she's not mad at me," Sarah continued. "Do you think she is?"

"No," Junior assured her. "She hugged you, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded. "I guess she did. But I think I should go talk to her anyway."

"You do that and I will go pick you up a pregnancy test from the store so we'll know for sure one way or the other," Junior said. "Do you think that would work for a demon pregnancy?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded. "I don't see why not. And thanks, Sean. You're being a big help."

"You're welcome," Junior replied as he got up to get his keys and coat. "It's no trouble, really. Oh, and about all this...I know it's a rough time you're going through and I'm gonna go through it with you. Even when Josh comes back, I'll be around if you need me. He'll always be the father, though. I won't try to take that away from him."

"Thank you," Sarah smiled. "I appreciate that."

"You're welcome," Junior smiled back. Then he left and shut the door behind him and Sarah lay down on the couch and closed her eyes to nap a little before he came back.

* * *

That night, it was Sarah who put Ellie to bed. "I love you, sweetheart," she told her after tucking her in and kissing her hair. "Sleep well."

"Where's Daddy?" Ellie asked as her mother started to walk toward the bedroom door.

"I don't know where Daddy is," Sarah shrugged. "But I know he'll be back some day. Aunt Selina is making sure of that."

"Good," Ellie smiled and shut her eyes as Sarah turned off the light.

But she wasn't sleeping peacefully for long. Soon, Ellie woke up and saw a man standing over her bed. "No!" She squealed "No!"

But then he put a hand over her mouth. "It's all right, sweetheart," Lucifer whispered and then moved his hand so she could talk. "I won't hurt you. Why would I? I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to see you very soon."

"No," Ellie shook her head.

"Yes," he told her. "And when you come with me, you can have all the candy you want. Would you like that?"

For a moment, he thought she would cave. She almost smiled, but then said, "Where's my daddy? Do you know?"

"Yes," he reassured her. "And if you come with me, your mother will get to see him again. Don't you want that?"

"I want Daddy too," Ellie pouted.

"Maybe you do now," Lucifer agreed and stroked her hair. "But in time, you'll forget about him."

"But I don't want to!" Ellie insisted. "I love my daddy!"

"Well, you have a very big vocabulary for a small girl, don't you?" Lucifer observed, putting a spell on the house so that they wouldn't be interrupted and then turning on the bedroom light and picking Ellie up out of her crib and setting her on the floor.

Then, he zapped her up a huge dollhouse in the Gothic style that was taller than she was.

"What's that?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"That's my house," he told her. "That's where you're gonna live." He got down on his knees next to her. "You see all the nice, big rooms? And all these little people are servants who will treat you like the queen you'll be! Here's a doll of you, even!" He handed her the little doll that was made up to look like her. "You can play with that and have lots of fun, and then when I come for you, perhaps you'll be glad to be with me." He kissed her hair. "See you later, sweetheart." He picked her up again so they were looking into each other's eyes. "Oh, and one more thing you can do for me, all right? Don't tell your mommy or that man that I came here. That'll have to be our secret." Because he figured she would probably tell, he did a little mind trick on her so that all she did was nod.

"Okay," she promised. "I won't." He then put her back on the floor and she played the rest of the night.

* * *

Sarah was shocked the next morning when she came in to wake up her daughter, only to find her sound asleep next to the massive dollhouse.

"Where in the world did this come from, sweetie?" She asked after gently shaking Ellie awake.

"I don't know," Ellie shrugged. "It was just here." She smiled. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Yes," Sarah replied, still curious as could be about where it had come from as she moved some of the dolls around. "It certainly is."

* * *

After the initial letter from AnnaLynne (if it had in fact been from her and not just a product of his own mind because he missed her), Gregory heard nothing else from her, and he had no idea why. It really wasn't fair since he had no idea how to reach her. He got out a piece of paper and tried the first thing that came to his head.

 _AnnaLynne,_

 _What is wrong with you? Why won't you talk to me? Was it the fact that there was basically a marriage proposal in my last letter? I knew I shouldn't have put that in there. I should have figured it would scare you off. If taking it back will get you to talk to me again, then I will, but please...I just need to know that you're all right! A simple "I'm fine so you can stop nagging me, Gregory" will be enough. Please tell me you're all right. Please? Or else I'm going to have to come get you myself. And I'll do it. You know that, right?_

 _Very Sincerely,_

 _Gregory_

Not quite knowing what to do next, he put the note in his fist, shut his eyes, and wished hard for AnnaLynne to get it. To his surprise, that worked. After he felt a little tingle in his palm, the note was gone. He hoped she got it and would reply soon. Cause, as he'd said in the note he'd written, not hearing from her was driving him crazy. He paced around the room for a bit and then remembered that he was not the only one who had lost a demon he wanted to communicate with.

He headed over to his mother's house to suggest to Selina that she try and contact Dorian in the same way.

"I don't know," she said skeptically. "Do you think that would really work? Cause I believe he would have contacted me by now if it did."

"Maybe he just doesn't know he can do it," Gregory suggested. "Maybe you need to make the first move so he can see it's possible."

"All right," Selina nodded. "What do I have to do?"

"Just write a note and picture him getting it," Gregory shrugged. "That's what I've always done, and it seems to work."

"All right," Selina nodded and went to get a pen and some paper. "I'll get right on that."

* * *

"Oh, poor Gregory," AnnaLynne remarked with a small chuckle as she read his panicked letter. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you or make you feel ignored. I need to fix that."

She got out a pen and paper and wrote her next letter.

 _Gregory,_

 _I am so sorry it's taken me such a long time to respond to your very sweet letter. No, it wasn't because you practically proposed marriage; in fact, I really enjoyed that part. But I'm in hell, remember, and as you can imagine, it's not really all sunshine and daisies down here._

 _But we're working on a way to get out, so I should be home to accept my official engagement ring sometime soon. You_ are _serious about us betting married, right? Cause I am really looking forward to that if you are. To sum up, I_ am _fine. As fine as a person can be under the circumstances. But I will definitely accept more letters from you. Not only that, I would treasure them because it's nice to know that someone cares about me. I like it. And you don't need to storm down here and rescue me. It could be too much of a risk. (However, if you do decide to, I will be suitably impressed and touched.)_

 _I miss you horribly and can't wait to get back to you._

 _Lots of love from your AnnaLynne_

Just as she was preparing to send the letter away, Dorian poked his head in. "Sorry for disturbing," he told her. "But...but I got this letter from Selina. She told me that she was working on getting us back. Isn't that great?"

"Yes," AnnaLynne smiled. "I'm so glad you're getting letters too! I was just about to send another one off to Gregory. He really seems to miss me." She smiled.

"And you miss him too, don't you?" Dorian came to put his arm around her. "I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"Thanks," AnnaLynne smiled as the note disappeared from her palm. "But now that I can talk to him, it's not as painful as it was at first. Is that how you feel about Selina?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded with a sigh. "But all the notes in the world aren't as good as the real thing."

"No," AnnaLynne shook her head. "But they'll do til we get out of here." She paused. "Do you think we'll get out of here?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "Between Selina's determination and Gregory's, along with what we're all doing, there's no way we'll be stuck down here forever. I'm very sure of that."


	8. With Teeth And Claws

"I don't know how much longer I can stand this, Klaus," a very pained Sybil told Klaus as they sat up with Christopher once again cause he was struggling to sleep. "I don't like watching him suffer! We need to find a way fix it. You know more about children than I do. Do you have any ideas?"

"I _have_ been thinking about it and I have an idea or two," Klaus assured her. "I don't know for certain yet, of course."

"Well, go ahead and check out whatever ideas you have!" Sybil cried. "It's better than doing nothing!"

So Klaus took Christopher to the kitchen and Sybil followed, intrigued to see what he would do. "Hold him, would you?" He asked her.

"Sure," Sybil nodded. Then she watched while Klaus washed his hands and then stuck his fingers in his son's mouth. "That's just what I thought," he nodded. "He seems to be teething already."

"Oh, you poor baby!" Sybil hugged her son close. "Here you've been hurting and we haven't done anything about it! Well, we'll fix it, I promise. You won't have to hurt anymore." Because they didn't have any actual teething rings handy, she just grabbed a carrot from the fridge and held it while Christopher sucked on it, his crying ended.

"If he's teething, we should probably see if he can handle blood now," Klaus suggested. "That's what I've done when my other children have begun teething."

"That's a good idea," Sybil nodded, grinning as Christopher finally calmed down and shut his eyes. "But let's wait until the morning to do that. There's no sense of disturbing him now when he's finally at peace. I think I'll stay in the recliner with him tonight. Would you mind?"

"Oh, no," Klaus murmured, shaking his head and kissing Sybil's hair. "You do what you need to do. But are you sure you'll be comfortable in the recliner? Should I bring you a pillow and another blanket?"

"Yeah," Sybil nodded, even though the overstuffed leather recliner in the living room was _not_ an uncomfortable chair. "It wouldn't hurt."

So while Sybil settled down in the recliner with the still soundly slumbering Christopher, Klaus went and got her the blanket and the pillow and when she was settled, asked, "Are you sure you'll be all right in here? I'd be more than happy to stay too."

"No," Sybil whispered and shook her head. "That's sweet, but you should sleep in bed if that's what you want. I'll be fine, I promise. You don't need to be in here just for me."

"All right," Klaus nodded, kissing Sybil first, and then Christopher. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Sybil returned, and then shut her eyes, the weight of her son's body against her making her feel content and relaxed as she hoped she would at least get a few hours of sleep before she had to wake up and feed him again. But now that he had teeth, he was getting nourishment from a bottle, that was for sure.

* * *

Mother and son got through the night reasonably well and the next time Sybil saw Klaus, it was after he waved a cup of lovely smelling coffee under her nose. "Good morning," he whispered. "Do you need this?"

"Yes," Sybil nodded. "Not as much as usual, but I won't refuse it."

They then made a trade, Klaus taking Christopher and Sybil taking the cup of decaf coffee. She took a swig from the cup and sighed. "I know this won't wake me up like the kind with caffeine does, but it's good to have it anyway," she remarked. Then she asked Klaus, "Are you going to do the blood thing with him today?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "If it's all right with you, I mean. We don't have to."

"Well, if it won't harm him, I don't see why we shouldn't," Sybil shrugged. "Go ahead. You'll get no objection from me."

So Klaus put some blood in a bottle, set his son in a carrier on the table, and then held onto the bottle as Christopher sucked on it greedily, his eyes going red.

"How's it going?" Sybil asked. "Was your hunch correct?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded and held up the empty bottle when Christopher had finished with it. "See?"

"And this isn't normal from what you've seen?" Sybil questioned.

"Not when they're this young," Klaus shook his head. "Even the most feral of my other children didn't feed like this til they were more than six months old."

"Interesting," Sybil shrugged. "I guess this is a new thing for both of us then."

"It is," Klaus nodded. "But at least we know what his biggest problem was and seem to have gotten it fixed. It'll be easier to go from there, won't it?"

"I hope so," Sybil agreed. "I really hope so."

* * *

"Can I ask what you've been doing in here by yourself?" Dorian asked Jeffrey. "You've missed all the fun encounters with Lucifer."

"Oh, damn, what a shame," Jeffrey replied sarcastically. "Actually, I've avoided him on purpose. I've been trying to contact Gwen and assure her that I'll be along soon so she won't be saddled with Mikael forever. I'm sure it's a nightmare for her in that house without me there."

"And I bet you miss your daughter too, don't you?" Dorian prompted. "Didn't you say she was expecting a child?"

"I suspect she's had him by now," Jeffrey sighed. "And I do want to meet him. I hope he didn't kill her."

"Why would the baby kill her?" Dorian questioned. "I mean, I know not all pregnancies go well, but why is this one more of a worry?"

"Why do you care?" Jeffrey bristled.

"Because she's the mother of one of _my_ children too," Dorian replied. "So tell me...what was the worry for her concerning this pregnancy?"

"That Klaus you had watching her, he's the father of her child this time around and he's not a demon. And you know that there's never been a child born to a demon mother and a non-demon father before now. So you can't blame me for thinking that something could go wrong."

"You know, maybe you could write her a letter and see if she's all right," Dorian suggested. "As long as you're writing one to Gwen too, I mean."

"I would, but I'm afraid to," Jeffrey admitted, having no idea why he was saying such things to the man who'd made a mess of Sybil's life the first time around. "What if I write to her and she can't write back because she's _dead?_ I just don't know if I could handle that, Dorian. I don't think my heart could take it."

"All right," Dorian replied. "You keep writing to Gwen and I will write to Sybil and give you the answer when I hear back from her, all right?"

"Thank you," Jeffrey replied, his dark eyes locked on Dorian's. "I really appreciate that."

Dorian nodded and put a hand on Jeffrey's shoulder for a moment before leaving the room to go write the note while Jeffrey continued the letter he was writing to Gwen, chuckling to himself as he thought of what Mikael would think when it arrived at his house and he found Gwen reading it.

* * *

"What is that you have there?" Mikael asked Gwen as they sat across from each other at the breakfast table. She was reading the note from Jeffrey instead of paying attention to him and it was making him angry. "Would you care to share with the class, Gwendolyn?"

"No," she snapped without looking up. "Cause it's of a personal nature that's none of the class' business." Then she finally deigned to raise her eyes to his. "And I don't even know why you're here," she continued. "I kicked you out, which means you're not allowed to come back."

"Well, fortunately, I kept my key," Mikael smiled. "You should have asked for it back, but you didn't."

"I am taking it back now," Gwen narrowed her eyes and shook out her blonde hair. "Where the hell did you put it?"

"In my back pocket," Mikael informed her with a grin. "Want to come over here and get it from me?"

"I don't have to," Gwen smiled, using her powers to make the key rise from his back pocket so she didn't have to come anywhere near him.

As it floated above him, he tried to reach up and grab it, but Gwen always kept it out of his reach, giggling as she did so. "Now," she said once it was firmly in her grip, "You are going to go and not come back."

"Tell me what's in the note and I'll go," Mikael told her simply. "That's all you have to do. I don't know why you're being so difficult about it."

"Why do you even give a damn?" Gwen asked. "Is it just to irritate me? It probably is. Then again, it's always been a habit of yours to get in other people's business, even when it has nothing to do with you."

"It'll take you two seconds," Mikael told her impatiently. "Just tell me who wrote you."

"No," Gwen said firmly and then let out a shriek as Mikael used his speed to snatch it away from her. "Damn you!" She screamed. "I hate you so much!"

"A letter from Jeffrey, isn't that nice," Mikael observed dryly before crumpling it up in his fist and then throwing it on the floor. "Why is he writing to you? I thought he had been sent to hell where he belongs."

"He was, thanks you to," Gwen answered. "But clearly he's found a way to outsmart you, so there. I thought he would. He's _much_ more intelligent than you are."

"Oh, grow up, Gwendolyn," Mikael shook his head. "Trying to stir me up with such petty comments is not going to work!"

"Then what _will_ make you leave and never darken my doorstep again?" Gwen questioned. "I genuinely want to know. If I even need to do something as ridiculous as find you another girlfriend, I will."

"Oh, I would like to see you try that," Mikael crossed his arms. "It won't work. I can be very single-minded when I want to be."

"I know that," Gwen snapped and picked up Jeffrey's note, flattening it out. "Now get out."

"Fine," Mikael nodded. "But tell me one thing: Are you actually going to try and find me a new woman, or is that just some ploy to make me go away?"

"Oh, no, it is a promise," Gwen nodded earnestly. "I would drag myself naked across broken glass if it would get you out of my hair."

Mikael grinned. "How intriguing. May I see that too?"

"No," Gwen shook her head. "All you get is the girlfriend."

"Fine," Mikael agreed. "That's something at least. Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Gwen told him, clutching the key she'd taken from him and looking around for a good way to destroy it.

* * *

"Did you get the note to Gwen finished?" Dorian questioned Jeffrey.

"I did," Jeffrey nodded. "And I even got it sent off to her. I hope that fool Mikael saw it and that he's being driven mad! What can I do for you? Don't tell me you've gotten a response from Sybil already!" He got up and snatched it out of Dorian's hand. "You did, you did!" He cried. "She made it through! She lives!" He had tears in his eyes as he clutched the letter in his fist.

"I'll leave you alone to read that in peace," Dorian smiled. "I'm happy for you, Jeffrey."

"Thank you," Jeffrey told him. "And thank you for writing her in the first place. It really...it really helps me to know she's alive."

"I know it does," Dorian replied. "We all have someone we miss. And what makes it more bearable to be stuck here is knowing that they're out there waiting for us to come back."

"Yes," Jeffrey nodded, skimming the note, and feeling himself tear up as he saw the word **grandson**. "It really does."


	9. Ellie's Bargain

Although she had initially been unsure about where Ellie's dollhouse had come from, it hadn't taken long for her to figure it out.

"The bad man gave you the pretty dollhous, didn't he?" She asked Ellie one night after she made the decision to confront Lucifer. "Did he come into your room and give to you?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "He gave me a toy!"

"Why did he give you the toy?" Sarah questioned.

"So she'll know where she'll be living when she's older," said a voice that made a chill go down Sarah's spine.

"She is _not_ coming to live with you," Sarah told him. "You're sick if you think you can just take a little child like that!"

"Didn't you hear me say she wouldn't come until she was older?" Lucifer sighed. "You know, people are so quick to vilify me and call me monstrous and unfair that they don't listen to what I actually have to say. Now, I was going to wait until Ellie was actually grown up to take her. You would have had years and years left. But now you pissed me off and I'm very close to changing my mind."

"No!" Sarah cried and grabbed for Ellie. "Don't you dare!"

"Oh, come now," Lucifer told her. "With that baby in your belly, you'll be so busy that you'll hardly notice she's gone!"

"I will," Sarah said firmly. "Every single day of my life."

Since he wasn't getting anywhere with Sarah, he caught Ellie's eye. "Sweetheart, your mommy says that she doesn't want you to come to the big house with me, even though it'll let her see your daddy again. Isn't she silly?"

"I get to see Daddy?" Ellie smiled. "Yay!"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "You don't get to see your father because you'll be coming with me. But your mother will get to see him when you do."

"I want to see my daddy!" Ellie frowned. "Let me see my daddy!"

"Well, look at that," Sarah smirked. "Seems like you've lost whatever hold you had on her."

"Eleanor, dear," he tried to reason with her as Sarah put her down and then sat back, looking amused. "Eleanor, why would you want to see your father when you can have a big house and chocolate cake instead?"

"Cause I love Daddy," Ellie said and bit Lucifer. "I don't like you. Go away!"

"You little brat!" Lucifer sneered. "Oh, all right. I suppose I know when I'm beat. At least for now. But I'll be back. And I'll make sure that when she comes with me, she's not a little girl, if that's what you're so concerned about!"

"Bye-bye," Ellie said and waved at him before she and Sarah pushed the dollhouse over, and he scowled at them and disappeared from the room.

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked as she hugged Ellie tight. "Are you scared? You don't have to be scared. The bad man is gone now."

"Don't make me go!" Ellie cried.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Sarah assured her and held her as close as she could. "I won't."

"What's going on in here?" Junior poked his head in. "What was with all the banging and crashing? Is everything okay?"

"No," Sarah shook her head. "No, Sean. Everything is _not_ okay. The bad man just showed up and made an even _more_ brazen attempt to grab Ellie!"

Junior's eyes widened. "Oh, my god! If he can get into the house, we can't stay here! We should go!"

"No, we shouldn't," Sarah shook her head. "It wouldn't do any good. He got in by magic, which means he could do it wherever we go. So let's just all huddle together in the same bed, or at least the same bedroom." She eyed Ellie. "Would it make you feel better to be sleeping in the same room as Sean and me?"

"Yes, please," Ellie nodded and cuddled against her mother. So they all made their way to Sarah's bedroom and she and Junior settled into bed with Ellie fitting snugly between them.

"Better?" Junior asked the little girl as he stroked her dark hair.

"Yes," Ellie nodded and closed her eyes.

"Good," Junior said. "But if you get scared, don't hesitate to wake your mommy or me, all right?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "Night-night." Then she fell asleep, but both Sarah and Sean were too riled up by Lucifer's appearance and threat to do the same, so they just stayed up all night and didn't take their eyes off of Ellie for a minute.

* * *

"All right, all you scum!" Lucifer called as he strode into the demon living quarters. "Get your asses out here, chop-chop! We need to have a talk! And you, Dorian! Make sure Jeffrey hears this! I know he's been avoiding me!"

Cursing under their breaths, the demons all dragged themselves to where Lucifer stood so they could hear whatever horrible thing he had in store for them next.

"What?" AnnaLynne asked. "What are you going to do with us now? Nothing bad, I hope!"

"What could be worse than this?" Josh asked.

"I actually want to tell you all that you'll soon be going home to your families to live out your cozy, boring little lives," Lucifer smiled. "You can thank me at any time."

"Not to sound ungrateful," Josh said. "But why are you giving us this? You never do anything for nothing!"

"And I didn't!" Lucifer told him. "Thanks to your daughter, you'll be set free! You'll be going out...and she'll be coming in!"

"But she's just a baby!" Josh cried. "How could you?"

"She won't be a baby," Lucifer shook her head. "Not when she gets here, I promise you."

"What does that mean?" Josh asked, feeling his whole body tense again. Then he felt someone grab his arm.

"Be careful, son," Rodan whispered. "Don't do anything foolish. Remember what happened last time."

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Listen to your father, Josh. He's very wise."

"Just tell me," Josh got out. "Are you going to kill her? I think I deserve to know that much."

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "I will not. I'll just change her a little. It won't harm her, I promise. And it'll get you home. It's a good thing!"

"Thank you," Rodan said as Josh opened his mouth, undoubtedly to say something else that would just make Lucifer angry. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Lucifer nodded. "I don't know when exactly it is that you'll be leaving because some people in Josh's household are proving resistant to reason. But it'll happen at some point. I'm sure of that." He then turned on his heel, leaving the demons to whisper among themselves about the possibility of getting out of hell.

* * *

He'd learned his lesson, he told himself as he stood under Ellie's window and prepared to visit her for the last time. He was going to change her. To make her grow. He was tired of waiting. He'd have to be careful though. He didn't want that fool of a mother of hers waking up and then coming in to ruin everything.

He zapped himself into her room and stood over her crib (which Sean and Sarah had finally felt comfortable enough letting her sleep in alone because Lucifer hadn't shown up in a while), not touching her or trying make any noise. Just watching her sleep and trying not to think about how she presently had her thumb in her mouth and was sucking away.

That's a good thing to know about your future partner-in-crime, he thought to himself. Good thing I won't have to look at it for very long, though.

Then, he brought his finger down on her forehead and she was suddenly bathed in light and then, when the room had darkened again, the dim moonlight struck a young woman much too big for her crib, with long, dark, curly hair covering her face. She let out a snort and her eyes popped open as she covered herself with a blanket. "What?" She asked, looking at him. "What the hell is going on? What have you done?"

"Well, first, why don't I make you more comfortable," he suggested, zapping her into a big brass bed and making sure she was now clothed in a silky, peach-colored night gown. "There," he smiled. "Much better. You won't miss being a toddler, I promise you."

"How did you make me older?" Ellie questioned. "Give me a mirror. I want to look at myself!"

"Well, you don't need a mirror for me to tell you you're very beautiful," he told her. He then put his hand on her bare thigh and she slapped him.

"Am I supposed to find that charming?" She questioned. "Cause I don't. And I'm not just coming with you now that you've made me grow, either."

"And why not?" Lucifer questioned. "Why would you possibly want to stay in this house when you know where you could be living instead?"

"I will stay here because you know what's here?" Ellie asked. "People who love me and care about me. People who don't just see me as a tool to be used for their own gain, which I know you do, even though I know you're trying to hide it."

"Oh come now!" Lucifer protested. "How do you know that? You've only been able to begin having conversations with me just recently. Let me explain what I want you for."

"All right," Ellie stood up and walked right up next to him. She was still tinier than he was, but at least being on her feet made her feel not so disadvantaged against him. "But it's not going to change my mind, whatever you tell me."

"Do you remember me telling you that your father will be free to come home to your mother if you do what I ask?" He questioned. "Isn't that something to think about?"

"You're trying to _blackmail_ me!" Ellie cried. "You're not allowing me to make my own choice! You're just putting me in a position where if I don't do what you want, I'll be made to feel horribly guilty!"

"Well, if I gave you a choice to come with me would you take it?" Lucifer questioned.

"No!" Ellie scowled. "Not when bossing me around and expecting me to do things your own way is how you do things. Not when I know coming with you means I'll be separated from my family and never see them again."

"What if I gave you time to say your goodbyes?" Lucifer offered, a major concession for him. " _Then_ would you come with me?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "At least not now. Expecting me to come with you now, or tomorrow, or even next week is an expectation that will not be met. Accept that."

Lucifer tried to hold onto his temper because as much as he hated to admit it, he realized that frightening her would probably not be the best way to get her on his side, at least not when he wanted her to think of him as friendly and non-threatening. "I have been kinder to you than I am to practically anyone," he told her. "Do you realize that, Eleanor? Do you really and truly realize that?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "I know you've been, by your own standards, kind to me. I suppose that in a way, I'm grateful. I'll probably even give into you at some point and do what you want. But that time isn't now. I will not be black-mailed. I will not be coerced. I will come with you because I decided, on my own, to do so. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Lucifer heaved a long sigh. "I understand, but I still don't like it." He paused. "Are you saying that you will, one day, come to me of your own volition? Will you actually do it, or are you just saying that because you want me to go away?"

"No, I mean it," Ellie assured him. "And now that you know that...leave. Please."

Lucifer sighed and then zapped the dollhouse back into one piece and a whole new wardrobe into the closet for her. "Just a little something for you to remember me by until we meet again," he whispered in her ear, his hand sliding over her curves. "Goodbye, Eleanor."

Once he was gone, there was a knock on the door and both Junior and Sarah made their way into the room.

"Did he come again?" Sarah asked. "Ellie, are you okay?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded and came into the light as her mother's jaw dropped. "I know it might not look like it because I've changed, but...I'm fine."

"What happened to you?" Junior questioned. "Was it something _he_ did?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "But the good news is that I think I got him off our backs for a while. I have enough time to head straight to Grandpa Matthew's house and have him teach me how to use a gun, because I think we're gonna need it."

"I could teach you," Sarah offered. "We don't need to go all the way to his house. And I think the less he knows about the Devil having his lusty gaze on you, the better."


	10. Earth Angel

"Josh!" Lucifer shouted after stomping back to his mansion. "Josh, I want to see you now!"

"Why?" Josh sighed. "What did I do?"

"Nothing!" Lucifer said. "I just need some advice."

"What sort of advice?" Josh wanted to know after Lucifer gestured for him to sit in a chair. "I'm kind of scared to ask."

"Just tell me about Ellie," Lucifer requested. "What does she like?"

"Well...why?" Josh asked. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just tell me!" Lucifer cried. "It doesn't _matter_ to you why I need to know!"

"She likes fish," Josh said. "And swimming. And me."

"That's a start," Lucifer told him. "What else?"

"She likes the Happy Garden Friends," Josh told him. "That's a show on TV. Her teddy bear, being read to while being on my lap..."

"Well, that's intriguing," Lucifer smiled. "I like the way this is going."

When Josh saw the grin on Lucifer's face, he immediately stopped talking. "Why am I telling you this?" He asked. "I must be losing my mind! Tell me why you want to know all this about Ellie, or..."

"Or what?" Lucifer asked. "What will you do to me, Josh? I'm trying to help all of you by asking this. It's your way home! Do you want to ruin it for everyone? Do you want me to gather everyone here and tell them that they _would_ have been able to go home, but because you're so stubborn, they have to stay here, separated from their loved ones, forever? It will not be a picnic being stuck for enternity in a place where everyone hates you. I know that for a fact."

"If you won't tell me exactly what you're doing with Ellie, can you at least tell me if it will hurt her?" Josh questioned. "Please? I'm going to keep asking until you give me at least that much."

"It will _not_ hurt her," Lucifer assured him, keeping his eyes on the worried young demon. "If she was hurt, damanged, what good would that do me?"

"Naturally," Josh nodded. "People are only worth something if they can help you."

"I answered your question, you have my assurance," Lucifer told him. "Now, what were you saying about her love of fish and water?"

* * *

"I'm gonna go take a swim," Ellie told her mother one afternoon after a few days of silence on the Lucifer front. "I'll not be out long."

"Take care of yourself!" Sarah replied. "And don't be out for too long!"

"I won't, I promise," Ellie swore. She put on a one-piece swimsuit with a large t-shirt over it, grabbed a towel, and went out to the pool. Once she was out, she took the shirt off and jumped into the water. She was doing laps when all of a sudden, she noticed a disturbance in the water, a slight wave. Then she saw that the pool was full of fish! What seemed like a milliion gold fish were swimming everywhere. She wanted to exclaim in shock, but she was worried if she opened her mouth, a fish would swim right in! She resurfaced and sighed. Her 'favorite' person was standing at the pool's edge.

"Well, hello, there," he smiled. "I talked to your father and he said you liked fish...so I brought you some. I hope you like them."

"I do, but not in the damn pool, you crazy!" Ellie remonstrated, then giggled as fish kept brushing up against her bare legs.

"Why aren't you coming out of the water to yell at me?" He smiled and got down on his knees at the pool's edge. "Are you wearing nothing and you don't want me to see?"

She noticed he was wearing a very finely tailored black suit and an evil idea spread in her mind. "You want to see?" She asked.

He grinned and leaned in closer and closer until she pulled him into the water and ran into the house, pausing only to stick her tongue out at him and leaving him submerged and wet.

After he boosted himself out of the pool and made all the fish disappear, he chuckled to himself. "Well, played, Eleanor," he said. "Well, played." Her effort to push him away had only made him want her more. He knew she would be happy about that.

* * *

He tried to think of one more way to leave an impression before he went to more conventional ways to woo a woman like chocolates and roses. Since she had just been a small child before her change, it was hard because kids that young didn't have many interests, but then an idea finally hit him: he wasn't sure about Josh or Sarah's voices, but some of the nights when he'd stood by Ellie's window, he'd noticed that she'd had a habit of turning the radio on to some soft music to help her sleep, much like how she might have been sung lullabies as a child before bedtime. That was his ticket in.

Standing outside her window, he listened to her putter around in her room and bathroom, then came the sound of the radio turning on, and he gave it a zap. A few seconds later, he heard his own voice float out of the open window, singing an old, but appropriate tune.

"Devil or angel, say you'll be mine, love me or leave me, I'll go out of my mind..."

Then the knob on the radio turned. The same song played on every station.

"What is going on?" Ellie huffed, even though she need not have even asked. Finally, she just gave up. At least he'd been smart enough to pick a soothing song to try and seduce her.

She let it run until her eyes closed, then Lucifer zapped himself into the room, turned off the radio, gently kissed her forehead, whispered, "Goodnight, Eleanor," and then left the house to plan his next move: Maybe going the conventional route, being wooed like a normal girl, would make her more receptive to what he wanted. It was a long shot cause she was a very stubborn woman, but he thought it wouldn't hurt to try.

* * *

After she'd thrown away the flowers, the candy, and all the other presents, he finally realized that if he was going to show Ellie all that he could give her, he was going to have to be sneakier about it. Make it so she couldn't avoid him, couldn't run away. He would have to visit her in her dreams...

 _As soon as Ellie closed her eyes, she found herself standing in front of her dollhouse. But it was much bigger. The door was open, and when she stepped inside, it shut gently behind her._

 _People took her coat and ushered her into a lovely, darkened sitting room with one dimly glowing fireplace. She was instructed to sit in a chair near that fireplace, and then was given a drink._

 _"I-I don't know if I should have this," she protested. The cup was taken away and she settled back into the chair, the heat and darkess making her sleepy. She then felt hands on her shoulders and neck, rubbing the knots out of her muscles._

 _"That's good," she murmured. "Do it more. Do it more."_

 _"I will," whispered a voice as she felt herself being picked up. "Come with me."_

 _She recognized that voice. She knew it was a voice she would ordinarily run away from, but she didn't care here. She was just too comfortable._

 _He finally laid her down in a black bed that was covered with black silk sheets. "I should have known," she said and rubbed one against her cheek._

 _"You're not scared, are you?" He told her. "You don't have to run away from me."_

 _"Don't be silly," She told him. "I know this is just a dream. You'll never get near me in real life, just like I told you. I'll make sure of that!"_

 _"Well, then," Lucifer grinned and showed his teeth. "We'll just have to make the best of the time we have before you wake up then, won't we?"_

 _"Yeah," Ellie nodded as she watched him undress and then stand in front of her naked. "Yes, I guess you will."_

 _He chuckled and climbed in beside her. "You don't seem scared. Don't feel like running away?"_

 _"Where would I go?" She asked. "Presumably, you put all these thoughts in my head."_

 _"Or maybe I didn't," he pointed out as he undressed her. "Maybe your brain is letting you feel feelings you refuse to when you're awake."_

 _"I don't have any feelings," Ellie insisted as he learned over her and looked down into her eyes. "I don't! I can prove it!"_

 _"Are you giving me permission?" Lucifer grinend._

 _"Oh, all right," Ellie huffed. "What the hell? If it'll prove my point, go ahead!"_

 _He then began kissing every inch of her warm body and running his hands over the inside of her thighs before pulling her close against him, nibbling on her earlobe and neck and kissing her lips hungrily before he let her fall back on the mattress to catch her breath._

 _"Had enough?" He asked with a grin as he heard her heart beat loud in his ears._

 _"No," Ellie shook her head, yelling her next words at the top of her lungs as he parted her legs and tasted her before pushing into her over and over again, . "No! Just finish it up! I know that's the only way we'll be free of it all!"_

 _Then she got a good look at him. He had horns. His eyes were black. His skin was red and scaly in some places. She gasped, eyes widened, and she screamed, the illusion broken, the pleasurable feeling gone._

"Ellie! Ellie Bean! Wake up, are you okay?"

Ellie opened her eyes and sat up with a jolt, finding her mother and Junior staring worriedly back at her.

"You were screaming," Sarah explained. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Ellie took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "I just...I had a bad dream, that's all. Can I come sleep with you guys again? Or at least Mom?"

"Yeah, sure," Sarah nodded and helped her to her feet. "Must've been some dream. Your cheeks are bright red. Why is that, if you want to talk about it?"

"No," Ellie put her hands to her face. "No, I really don't."


	11. She Is A Mystery

After her dream, Ellie spent a lot more time outside the house, because she knew if she stayed home, she'd probably see _him_ a lot more. And now that he was developing a habit of getting into her mind as well as her home (cause no matter what he'd tried to trick her into thinking, what had gone on between her and Lucifer in that dream had nothing to do with what _she_ wanted, that was for sure. It was all him, the snake.

She was at the pet store picking up fish food and some toys for Fishy's bowl, and after she paid and left, that was when she ran into Lucifer again, who was loitering outside the store.

"I'm sorry," she apologized automatically without looking up. Then she saw him. "Oh, wait, no I'm not," she recanted. "I should have tried to hit you harder."

"Well, that's very friendly, Eleanor," he said with a smile. "Why is it that whenever I see you, you're always in a bad mood?"

"Cause you just seem to have that effect on me," Ellie gave him a tight-lipped smile and crossed her arms. "So...let's get this over with, come on. What do you want from me? Are you here to brag about that dream you gave me? I bet you were so pleased about what was in it."

"I was," He nodded and followed her to the car. "And you seemed to be enjoying yourself too. What do you think that means?"

"I think it means it was a dream," Ellie told him. "It was a dream, it didn't actually happen, it _will not_ actually happen, and it proves nothing! You will never kiss me or touch me or anything like that!"

"Can I ask why you were so frightened at the end, though? I was not expecting that," Lucifer remarked. "And I hate to see you distressed."

"How can you not know why I was distressed?" Ellie questioned, brown eyes darkening with anger. "You turned into a damn monster without any sort of warning to me!"

"Oh, that's a problem?" Lucifer questioned. "I would have thought you'd be used to that sort of thing, what with your father being a demon and all."

"If Daddy could make faces like that, I never saw them," Ellie told him flatly. "And I think I would remember something so scary."

"Well...well, I apologize for frightening you," Lucifer got out, much to Ellie's surprise.

"Thank you," she told him. "That's nice of you, I guess."

He then got closer to her and grabbed her gently from behind. "Did you know that I'm gonna be the first one you kiss, Eleanor?" He whispered in her ear.

"Oh, I think not," she said and got out of his grip. "I can kiss anyone I want, whenever I want. You're not my only option, that's for sure." She then spotted a tan young man with bleached blonde hair and ripped jeans putting his purchases in his nearby car. He was good looking and from how snugly his shirt fit, she could tell he worked out. "Hey," she called to him. "Hey, you!"

"Me?" He asked. "What?"

"My name's Ellie," she told him, and then pointed at Lucifer over her shoulder. "This idiot is convinced that I'm unattractive to every man but him and I want to prove him wrong. Do you mind if I kiss you?"

"I'm Ricky," he replied, after not so subtly looking her over. "And of course I don't mind, you being so pretty and all."

"Well, aren't you sweet!" Ellie giggled as Ricky bent her over backwards and kissed her quite soundly.

"All right, all right, enough!" Lucifer yelled, sending Ricky flying against his own car, hitting it hard enough that he crumpled in an unconscious pile in the parking lot. "Come, Eleanor," he said firmly and grabbed Ellie by the arm. "You and I need to have a talk."

His grip on her arm was tight and it quickly began to hurt.

"Loosen your grip, would you?" She asked. "My arm's beginning to go numb!"

"Fine," he said and pushed her away. His eyes were going red and she was beginning to see changes in his facial structure that meant the scary face from the dream was probably coming. "Do you realize why I'm mad at you, Eleanor?"

"Yes, I realize it," Eleanor nodded, her eyes still locked on his as she rubbed her arm and tried to keep her voice from shaking. "I know why you're mad, but you have no right to be. I've made it very clear that I have no interest in kissing you or being with you in any way whatsoever. If you choose not to hear that, I don't see why it's my fault. You're really acting childish, you know. Accept what will never be and move on!"

It was then that time seemed to freeze. Nothing in the parking lot moved except her and Lucifer. There wasn't any breeze or anything.

"Oh, my god!" She looked around and shivered, feeling a teensy bit frightened for the first time, although she wouldn't let him see it. "What did you do? What's going on? Why did everything stop except you and me?"

"I did it, Eleanor," Lucifer told her, his voice cold and controlled as he brushed some lint off his black sweater. "I can stop time, you know. I can control it. And in just a few seconds, it'll be as if that kiss with that horrible boy never happened. I think that will be better for both of us, don't you think? You'll forget about the boy, but you'll _never_ be able to forget what I've told you about how things will be between us."

"No!" She cried. "Don't you dare-" But she was cut off as he put a hand on her forehead and gave a little push, making her head bend back a little. Then she gave him a frown, sneezed, and picked up her bags. "What are you looking at?" She questioned. "Can't I even come to get fish food without seeing your face?"

"I just wanted to say 'Hello'," Lucifer smiled. "But I'll be on my way now. See you later, Eleanor."

"Bye," Ellie huffed, putting her bags in the trunk, getting in the car, and then driving back home. Something felt off about their exchange, but she couldn't figure out what it was, no matter how much she wracked her brain. Oh, well, it was probably nothing. And to devote this much of her brain power to figuring out something he did...well, that was just giving him more attention than he deserved. That was for sure.

After she got done at the pet store, she went to get herself some coffee and a couple of cartons of ice cream, one chocolate brownie, and the other chocolate chip cookie dough, before heading home.

* * *

"How did things go at the pet store?" Junior questioned. "Did you find everything? Do you need help bringing stuff inside?"

"Yes, please," Ellie smiled. "That would be nice. Just don't leave your wallet in the car while we're getting stuff inside."

"Oh, I won't," Juinor assured her. "I promise."

They went out to the car and after Ellie grabbed all the fish things, Junior grabbed the other bag. "Ice cream," he remarked. "Celebration treat or remedy for a bad day?"

"A little of both," Ellie informed him.

He nodded and put a hand on her shoulder. "Well, if you need to talk, I'm here."

"Thanks," Ellie said and then as he started to walk away, she stopped him. "Hey, can I ask you a question? And answer honestly, please. Don't just say what you think I want to hear."

"All right," Junior nodded. "What can I tell you?"

"Do you think...do you think I'll ever see my dad again?" She got out.

"Well, yeah," Junior nodded and took her hand. "What makes you think you won't?"

"Well, Lucifer says that the only way the demons will be allowed to come back is if I go with him, so...so that means Dad and I might never be in the same place at the same time again, and..." she felt herself start to tear up. "And..."

"It's okay," Junior hugged her and stroked her hair. "Your mother and I know all about Lucifer's plan and we will help you make it so your dad will come back and you'll also be able to see him. We'll do that for you, okay?"

"Okay," Ellie nodded and wiped her eyes. "Thank you." She paused. "Would you...would you want to share some ice cream with me?"

"Yes," Junior nodded, giving her a smile as he went to get the spoons. "I would love to."

* * *

"No girl yet, boss?" Asked Lucifer's head minion, Dexter. "I would have thought you'd have her by now. It's never taken you this long to get what you want before."

Lucifer turned to stare at the tall red demon. "Thank you for reminding me of my failure, Dexter. I really appreciate that."

"I didn't mean to," Dexter replied. He was one of a fourth kind of demon, a specific species meant to serve Lucifer in particular, and although he could rustle up a human appearance if need be, the occasion hardly ever presented itself. "I just wondered if everything was all right."

"Oh, yes," Lucifer sighed. "In time, I'm sure I'll get what I want. I always do. Get me a drink."

"All right," Dexter replied. "So I'm assuming you don't want to talk about it?"

"Do I ever?" Lucifer questioned. "Just go about your own damn business!"

Dexter hustled off and came back with his drink and after a few of them, his boss was in a chattier mood.

"You know, when I first saw Ellie, there was something different about her," he said. "Something pure, something simple and good. And sure, it might have been because she was a child, but I still see a bit of it now that she's grown. Just so much goodness...she's damn incorruptible that one. I have a feeling that if I waved diamonds and money in front of her, she wouldn't care. She'd probably spit on me and run away."

"So pick someone else," Dexter shrugged. "There are literally _billions_ of other women on earth. You're the Prince of Darkness. You shouldn't have to work so hard to get what you want."

"No, but see, that's the thing: I need Ellie if I want to better things for myself," Lucifer explained. "I'll be able...I'll be able to be a living man, you see?"

"But why would you want that?" Dexter questioned. "Think about all you have now. Isn't that better?"

"No, Dexter," Lucifer sighed. "It's not, and you can't possibly understand why. There's no use explaining it to you."

"All right," Dexter nodded. "I'll just go and leave you alone, then."

"You do that," Lucifer told him. "That might be best." So he was left alone, thinking about Ellie. About how, as much as he didn't want to admit it, what his many attempts to woo her had shown him was that if he wanted to be near her for any length of time at all, he'd actually have to work at it. Do more than just wave treasure and things in front of her eyes and hope she'd want them. He'd actually have to become a better man. He scoffed. It was all some sort of ridiculous plot. He didn't even understand why, for this girl, of all people, he was trying so hard. But he was. Not that he would let her get off scot-free. Because no matter how self-righteous she acted, she had to desire _something_ deep down. That would be his compensation while he was working on being a better man: Making Ellie acquainted with the very bad woman he knew was deep within her somewhere.


	12. A Fine Bit Of Theater

"You just don't give up, do you?" Ellie asked, hands on her hips as she faced Lucifer while out riding one day. She'd stopped so that her horse could have a drink in a creek and Lucifer called out to her from a tree where he'd sat himself a few seconds after they arrived. "What do you want from me?"

"Well, you know by now," he explained, jumping from the branch where he perched onto the ground. "It's your fault that I haven't gotten it yet. I tried being sneaky and I tried being nice, and neither got me anywhere!"

"Good," Ellie replied. "That means you're giving up. Hallelujah!"

"No, not necessarily," Lucifer shook his head. "We're onto the bribery stage."

Ellie scoffed. "Bribery? I'm not gonna take candy or jewels or any of that silly stuff."

"Yes, yes, you are a paragon of virtue, a wonderful example to us all," Lucifer rolled his eyes. "Actually, I wasn't thinking of something so predictable as all that, but rather something you'd _actually_ want."

"Oh?" Ellie asked. "And what would that be? I doubt you'd give me the one thing I _really_ want."

"Well, maybe not how you'd like it, but yes, I _am_ thinking of giving you what you want," Lucifer smiled. "How about...you go to dinner with me...and I'll let you see your father for five minutes?"

"That's a start," Ellie nodded. "But I have a counteroffer: You give me _and my mom_ five minutes each with Dad and I'll go to dinner with you?"

"All right, done!" Lucifer grinned and then disappeared as Ellie cursed herself. She'd made a deal with him and he probably wouldn't even hold up his end of it. What the hell was she thinking? And five minutes was hardly any time at all when she would probably be at dinner with that idiot for at least a couple of hours. Oh, well. Nothing could be done about it now," she shrugged and got back on her horse. Maybe if she behaved herself at dinner, she'd be in a position after to ask for more time. And when that was the case, she'd ask for an hour.

As she started her ride again, she wondered if she should warn her mother or Junior about her dad showing up. No, why not let it be a surprise? Her mom was having a tough time of it lately and she could use some cheering up.

* * *

"Hey, there," Junior said as he looked up and saw a tearful Sarah come into the living room. "Come here and tell me what's wrong. What can I do for you?"

"Oh, nothing," Sarah sniffled and wiped her eyes. "You've...you've been really great about everything, but...oh, god! I miss Josh so much!" She put her head down on his shoulder and sobbed. "If I could just talk to him one more time and tell him how much I love him and miss him then I..."

"You what?" Junior encouraged. "What would you do if you could see Josh again?"

"Never mind," Sarah sniffled. "Who cares? It'll never happen! He's gone!" Then, she kissed him again, in the same emotionally overwrought way that she had before.

Junior let this one go one a bit longer than the previous one, since it seemed like she was giving up on Josh and showing that she wanted to be with him, so he didn't feel so guilty. Then, he saw something out of the corner of his eye...something that looked like a young man. It looked like Josh himself!

"Hey!" He told Sarah, breaking the kiss. "Turn and look. See who it is!"

She turned and saw him then...the love of her life, with the saddest look on his face. She let Junior go and ran toward Josh, but he just shook his head and started to walk away.

"Come back!" She cried, leaving Junior's arms to go put a hand on Josh's. "Come back! Whatever you saw, I'm sorry! Don't leave me again, please!"

"Why shouldn't I?" Josh narrowed his eyes. "You looked pretty comfortable. What do you need me for?" His eyes moved to her obvious belly. "Even more comfortable than I originally thought. How can you expect me to stay here when you're expecting the child of another man?"

"It's not anyone else's but yours," Junior told him "I promise. She and I haven't slept together since Ellie was conceived, I _swear_."

Although he knew he didn't have much time, Josh wasted the next several seconds looking between Junior and Sarah and trying to figure out if they were lying or not. But deciding was harder than he thought it would be, as Sarah was watching him with tears in her eyes and pleading for him to listen to her, just listen, which was hard to resist.

Finally, he zapped up a cup and a knife, filled the bottom of the cup with his blood, and roughly poured it down her throat. "There," he got out. "Not to say that I believe you, but just on the off chance that you aren't lying, my blood will make you into a demon and you'll make it through delivery of our child alive. Better that than have your death on my conscience."

Then, without so much as a 'Goodbye,' he stormed off and disappeared, leaving both Junior and Sarah alone as Sarah dissolved into sobs.

* * *

Next, he headed to Ellie's room and he hoped that meeting would be much more pleasant and less shocking than the one with her mother had been.

"Ellie Bean?" He called when he poked his head in the door. "Ellie, I've come to visit! Where are you?" He stared at her new bed, and the strange new wardrobe that was hanging in her closet and draped over chairs, and wadded up on the floor.

"I don't know if it's just me," he told himself as he picked up a light blue sweatshirt. "But I think all this is too big for you." He then let out a shout as the door to the bedroom opened and a teenage girl with dark eyes and dark hair and wearing a fuzzy purple bathrobe grinned at him and ran into the room, throwing herself into his arms.

"Daddy!" She cried. "Oh, my god! I'm so glad you're back! We only have five minutes, I know, so I'll try to make it quick, but I'm so happy to see you! I've missed you so much!"

"I'm sorry," Josh apologized and held her at a distance. "But..who are you?"

"It's me!" She exclaimed. "Ellie! I mean, I know you don't recognize me cause Lucifer made me grow up, but it's still me, even though I'm not a toddler. I promise."

He then looked deep into her eyes and finally saw little Ellie in there, especially as she smiled. "You're beautiful," he told her.

"Thank you," she blushed.

"Now let's talk about your mother," Josh suggested. "Do you know why she cheated on me with your birth father and why she would have a child with him?" He paused. "Or don't you? I caught them kissing when I first showed up."

"Mom isn't in love with Sean, Dad," Ellie explained. "She just invited him to help her take care of me since you had to go away. That's all. They have separate bedrooms and everything. Except for when I had nightmares, of course. Then we'd all huddle together."

"And everyone was fully clothed, I would hope," Josh surmised, eyes narrowed.

"Of course!" Ellie nodded. "Mom wouldn't do anything else! She's _really_ missed you. More than anything. There were nights when I wouldn't sleep in my crib because she had to cuddle with someone and I was the only other one in the house besides Junior." She paused and gave Josh a brief, desperate shake. "Please say you believe me so that we can move on and at least have a few seconds to talk about happy things? If you caught Mom and Junior kissing, it was probably just a stress thing. She doesn't mean anything by it. She just needs some attention cause she's pregnant and you're not here."

"What did you agree to in order to convince Lucifer to let me see you and your mother?" Josh questioned, changing the subject. "Nothing foolish or stupid, I hope. _Nothing_ is worth giving him control of your life, Eleanor!"

"Please don't call me Eleanor!" Ellie begged. "That's what _he_ does, and I don't need to hear it from you too! And how can you be mad at me about this if what I'm doing gets you and the other demons home? That's worth something, right, Daddy?"

Josh just shook his head. "Didn't you hear a word I said?" He asked, trying not to cry. " _Nothing_ is worth giving Lucifer control of your life! Not even me! Now, I'm sorry you didn't get your deal's worth, but...I've had enough. Hell is starting to look favorable after what you and your mother have become since I've left. Goodbye, Eleanor."

"Goodbye, Daddy," Ellie whispered as he faded away. Then, she threw herself down on her bed and cried herself out before resigning herself to the fact that it was time to keep her end of the deal and go have her date with the devil. She thought about wearing a nice dress, but then she changed her mind, grabbing a pair of jeans instead and a white shirt that said, "Don't call me Doll" in sparkly pink letters. She got dressed, grinned to herself, and made her way to the restaurant.

"I'm here!" Ellie announced to Lucifer as she reached the table and sat down without giving him a chance to do anything gentlemanly for her like pull out her chair.

He groaned in dismay when he saw what she was wearing. "What is that?" He complained. The shirt in particular annoyed him. "I told you to wear a dress!"

She looked down at the shirt, denim jacket, and neat jeans she wore. "I didn't _feel_ like wearing a dress. And besides, I don't see what the problem is. These are neat, and they let me in, so...where's the waiter?"

Lucifer sighed. "I did you a big favor by letting you have contact with your father. The least you could do is adhere to the dress code on our date."

"This is how I am!" She said. "I am not a person who wears fancy dresses and pearls and all that nonsense and you can't make me!"

"Oh, I certainly can," Lucifer nodded and zapped her into a tiny black lace dress, which made her shriek, because she felt naked, and she didn't like feeling naked in public.

"You look ravishing in that dress," Lucifer whispered. "Don't you know that?"

"Maybe, but I feel like I'm freezing!" Ellie complained. "This dress has no skirt, no neckline, and it doesn't feel like there's a back on it, either. I don't know why I'm so cold. I thought hell was supposed to be hot." She chuckled for a moment. "But then again, since I'm actually here eating with you, hell has truly frozen over, so the chill in the air is fitting."

"Well, aren't you a comedian?" Lucifer chuckled. "Luckily for you, I like a good joke."

"Good," Ellie nodded. "Good."

"So...how did seeing your father go?" Lucifer questioned. "Was it everything you hoped?"

"No, not really," Ellie shook her head. "He was freaked out by older me, and he visited Mom first and found her and Junior kissing, which pissed him off, so the whole time he and I talked, he was mad. Frankly, I don't feel like I got my money's worth, so we're leaving right after appetizers."

"No, no, no!" Lucifer shook his head. "That wasn't part of it!"

"Well, don't you think I should at least get a positive experience out of a deal before I give _you_ one?" Ellie pointed out. "You'll always be able to manipulate yourself a positive experience. I should have the same." She paused. "And how does two hours of having lunch with you equal five minutes with my father?"

"You said you wanted five minutes," Lucifer told her and put his napkin on his lap. "I was giving you what you wanted."

"You took advantage of me!" Ellie cried, making most of the people at the surrounding tables stare at them. "You should have given me more time than what I asked for! That's what a decent person would do!"

"Is everything okay here?" The waiter asked.

"Oh, yes, we're fine," Lucifer assured him. "Get us some red wine, would you, please? a Merlot would be nice. You pick the specific bottle."

"Bring two!" Ellie called. "I want one for myself!"

"You're just being a little devil tonight, aren't you?" Lucifer asked in a low voice.

"Takes one to know one," Elllie replied and threw the napkin ring at him.

When the wine came, she didn't even wait for the waiter to open it. Using her vampire strength, she pulled the cork out of the bottle and then began chugging it down.

"Eleanor, darling," Lucifer whispered, "You think you might want to share that?"

"No," Ellie shook her head after pausing at last and burping. "I'm good."

"Do we want dinner?" The water continued.

"Just give us the most expensive things on the menu," Ellie replied. "I don't care what it is. Bring it and set it right down. He's paying, so what do I care?"

"All right then, Miss," the waiter nodded, taking the menus and leaving.

Once he was gone, Lucifer said, "Eleanor, I think you should give me the bottle now."

"All right," Ellie nodded. "You want a glass?" She got up, took the bottle, and came around the table with it, but instead of pouring it in the glass he offered, dumped it down the front of him, so his shirt was stained pink and there were splatters all over his pants.

"All right, that's it!" He cried. "I've had enough. We're going home!"

"No, but I have to stay for my dinner!" Ellie reminded him. "That's what we came for, isn't it?" She wasn't positive she could do what she did next, but she figured it was worth a shot. She used her magic to try and freeze Lucifer to a chair so he couldn't get up and leave...and to her shock (and his), it actually worked. He was literally unable to leave his chair.

"How are you doing this?" He asked her. "How are you doing magic on me?"

"I don't know," Ellie grinned and dug into her pheasant. "But I like it!"

After the pheasant was done, she ate more until she literally had to be carried from the restaurant, then threw up in the back of Lucifer's car.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself," he told her as they drove away. "Cause what you'll experience tonight and tomorrow from this little bit of fun is a worse hell than anything I could dredge up."

"I doubt it," Ellie told him.

"Oh, just you wait and see," He grinned and put his foot on the gas pedal as Ellie cried out.

"Stop!" She begged. "I'm going to be sick again!"

"What?" Lucifer yelled. "I can't hear you over the roar of the engine!"

* * *

When they were parked in the driveway of her parents' house, Lucifer used his magic to clean up his car and then took pity on poor Ellie, who was really in a bad way.

"Would you like me to help you?" He asked. "At the very least, let me get you inside."

"No, thanks," Ellie shook her head. "I can handle myself fine. Good night."

"Goodnight," Lucifer told her. as he watched her toddle unsteadily toward the house and then caught her before she face-planted on the front step, sitting her down and then ringing the doorbell to get her parents' attention. "Let this evening be a lesson to you."

* * *

Ellie slammed the door to her room closed after Junior left her by the doorway at her insistence, and began hitting the wall, cursing under her breath, and throwing pillows on the floor. "Damn him!" She cried. "Damn that stupid, lousy, son of a-" She then paused and threw up on the carpet before bursting into tears.

"Honey, is everything okay?" Sarah asked her from the hallway. Junior had mentioned what state Ellie was in and motherly concern compelled her to check on her daughter. "Thank you so much for doing what you did this evening. I know it was hard. Hard for all of us."

"You're damn right it was," Ellie replied and lay her head on the mattress. "I think I'll just go to sleep and forget it all. I bet you do too."

"Okay," Sarah nodded. "Are you all right? Do you need me to come in there? Did I hear you being sick?"

"No, I'm fine," Ellie assured her mom. "I just need to be alone." She then cleaned up the mess, got sick more in the bathroom, and when she felt better, shut off the lights staggered to bed, and closed her eyes, gasping when she became aware of a dark figure looming over her for a moment before the lights turned on again. But when she saw who it was, she wasn't alarmed at all.

"Oh, damn!" She cried and threw the last pillow in Lucifer's direction. "Have you come to recreate that fucking dream I had? Haven't I been through enough tonight? Let me sleep and stop invading my dreams! I don't want any more of them!"

Lucifer chuckled. "Interesting choice of words," he grinned at her, and then, without invitation, sat beside her on the bed and put his arms around her waist, sniffing her hair that smelled like apples. "You were beautiful tonight, you know. Despite your bad behavior. I wanted you very much. I still do."

She felt better than she had before as she rested in his arms. Not ill anymore.

"Yes, well, I'm touched," Ellie snapped when she realized she was softening toward him and slid out of his grip. "But it shouldn't surprise you that I still don't feel the same way. What happened tonight was _not_ due to any feelings for you on my part. I thought you were gonna be too mad to want me anymore. That's why I acted how I did. Don't tell me it didn't work!"

"I was surprised at first, but it really was a brilliant bit of theater." Lucifer replied and pulled her close to him again. "You might have meant it when you said you hated me before. But things have changed. You want me now. I can feel it." He leaned in, his lips getting closer and closer to hers, until they met in a passionate kiss as he lowered her onto the mattress and she panted when she spoke.

"I hate you, you know," she looked up at him. "But I have to admit you're a good kisser!" She pulled him to her again. "Yep," she nodded. "I suppose I could get used to that." She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her fingers over his bare chest while he nipped her neck and nibbled on her earlobe.

"Why did you come back?" She asked as he got her clothes off. "Why are you even doing this to me again?"

"You got to have your fun with me, now I get to have my fun with you," Lucifer replied, his suit gone, his body bare. "Don't you think it'll be fun? You seemed to enjoy last time until the screaming that didn't involve my name."

"Oh, stop!" Ellie cried as he kissed her breasts and then sucked gently on her nipples. "I didn't scream your name last time. You only wanted me to."

"Well, that'll just be a goal for this time, won't it?" Lucifer questioned as he kissed up her inner thighs and then pleasured her with his tongue, which made her gasp.

"Not this again!" She cried, trying to block the pleasurable feelings. "Not this again!"

"Just admit that you like it," Lucifer whispered and then paused to play with her hair. "There's no shame in that. Why do you always make things harder than they need to be?"

"I don't!" She told him. "I don't!"

He pulled her close and ran his warm hands all over her body before slipping inside her and kissing her softly.

"You're being gentle," she noticed. "Why?"

"Cause I don't want to scare you," he told her. "Not like last time." He put a hand on either side of her face. "You don't want that, do you, darling?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "Right now, I'm-" she swallowed. "I-I'm scared enough already."

"Why are you scared, Eleanor?" he asked her. "Tell me. Say it out loud."

"I won't," Ellie shook her head. "If I don't say it, it's not true!"

"I'll say it for you, then," he told her. "'I want you, Lucifer. More than I've ever wanted any other man! There is no one else in the world for me! You fill me full of pleasures that'"

"Stop!" Ellie cried, looking panicked as her cheeks became red. "How...how do you know...?"

He pulled out of her and zapped himself in his clothes again. "There's a thin line between love and hate, Eleanor. Someday, you'll realize that. Sleep well, pet." He left then, and Ellie woke up, sweating and shaking as she clutched her comforter and stared into her dark, empty room.


	13. Time To Pay The Piper

"No, no...it's not good enough!" Selina threw yet another crumpled slip of paper with a note to Dorian on it in the trash, not a far reach from where she sat on the toilet with the seat down. She had so much she wanted to say to him about how much she missed him and wished he would come back, but every time she finished a letter, her words just felt...inadequate.

Sighing, she stood up and went to wash the ink off her hands. "I'm sorry, Dorian," she apologized to the mirror. "Ever since I found out I could write you, I've been trying to do it at a regular pace so you wouldn't feel neglected, but lately...lately I've had such trouble finding the right words!"

"Why don't you tell me some?" Dorian remarked with a smile as he appeared in the mirror. "I'd be eager to know what you think is terrible. I bet you're exaggerating.

"Oh, my god!" Selina screamed and laughed, tears running down her cheeks. "How...how are you...why?"

"I don't know," Dorian shook his head and gave her a big smile. "I'm just as shocked as you that this worked. Cause frankly, letters are fine, but I needed to see your face, and I thought that if I looked in a mirror and pictured you-"

"That you would see me!" Selina cried and tried to hug the mirror, her cheeks turning pink when she realized she couldn't.

"Yes," Dorian nodded with a smile. "And luckily, it looks like you can see me too."

"I can!" Selina smiled. "And I...I've never been so happy to see anyone or anything in my entire life! Are you okay? Are they hurting you? Please tell me they aren't hurting you like they do with people who go to hell in the movies and stuff."

"Well, luckily for me, I'm not a sinner, so no, I wouldn't be tortured in that way," Dorian assured her. "You don't have to worry about that. But what I'm stuck with is loneliness and boredem and being able to see everything and everyone who isn't with me, but not interact with them face to face. At least not until now, that is."

"How long until you come back to me?" Selina questioned. "Do you know? Are you planning to? Please tell me you are. I'm very lonely. The kids stop by every once in a while to cheer me up and that helps, but...it's not the same."

"I know it's not," Dorian assured her with a sigh. "I'm lonely too. I won't let us be like this forever. I'll find a way to leave. We're all working on it. Please just be patient and hang on for a little longer. I love you, Selina."

"I love you too, Dorian," Selina replied. "I love you so much. I've never loved anyone so much in my life. When will we talk again? Can we?"

"Yes," Dorian assured her as he began to fade away. "You'll hear from me again, I promise."

And with that, Selina stepped away from the mirror, rubbed her eyes, threw all the letter drafts away, and tried to get some sleep, hoping that the assurance of contact from Dorian would make shutting her eyes easier than it had been.

* * *

"I need you to do me a favor, brother," Klaus requested of Elijah. "It has to do with Christopher."

"What about him?" Elijah asked as they sat at the kitchen table. "Niklaus, is everything all right?"

"No, it isn't," Klaus shook his head. "Apparently, one of the reasons why Sybil was allowed to stay when all the other demons were sent back to hell or wherever it is they live is because she was pregnant with our son at the time and with all our combined genes, he's very powerful. Lucifer has already visited us and made it clear that he's going to take Christopher at some point and use him for his power or something else horrible. I don't even really want to think about it. So...what I need you or Amy to do is make it so I don't know where he is. Either erase my memory, or hide him away in secret, or something! I won't have him taken to hell! I won't."

"All right," Elijah nodded, feeling for his brother because of how much it had hurt _him_ to lose Lily. "I'll think of something. Trust me and your son will be safe. I swear."

"Thank you," Klaus nodded. "And one more thing."

"What is that?" Elijah asked.

"I hope...I hope Lily comes back to you soon," Klaus replied. "I know you miss her."

"Thank you, Niklaus," Elijah sighed. "I needed to hear that. Then he caught Klaus' eye. "How do you want to do this plan with Christopher? Do you and Sybil have any ideas already, or..?

"No," Klaus shook his head. "It's not anything that Sybil especially wants to think about, so it's all up to you, if that's not too much of a problem."

"No," Elijah shook his head. "No, it's not. Leave it to me. Everything will be all right."

* * *

"Do we absolutely _have_ to give him away?" Sybil questioned as she clutched Christopher to her chest. "Can't we just go into hiding?"

"No," Elijah sighed. "Now, I'm not certain of this, but I think since you're a demon and Christopher is part demon, wherever you went, Lucifer would be able to hone in on you and find you. So I think the best thing would be to separate you. I'm sorry."

Sybil sighed. "Well, I'm not...not happy about it, but if it will keep him safe, I'll do it...I'll give him up for his own good. But what will be done with him? Will he be put in an orphanage?"

"I suppose we could do that temporarily as a way to lure Lucifer to us, but...someone as singular as Christopher won't last very long in an orphanage."

"We'll start there, then," Klaus nodded. "Then we'll make any changes that need to be made later on."

Sybil made a sad squeaking noise, her lip jutting out.

"It won't be so bad," Klaus swore. "We'll handle this, I promise."

"I know," Sybil cried. "But it's just so hard. What will happen to him? What if it's something bad? What if we never see him again?"

"You will," Elijah assured her. "I'll make sure of that."

* * *

It took some time, but eventually, Klaus and Elijah found a suitable orphanage to leave Christopher at. Elijah made note of the address and compelled the staff to see any of his strange behavior as normal, along with giving them proper instructions about how to care for him. Then they both left with heavy hearts.

"Well, that was fast," Sybil remarked, rising from the sofa when they returned. "But I figured you probably wouldn't want to linger."

"No," Klaus shook his head. "We didn't."

"Now I have to make my brother forget the address of the place where we left your son in case Lucifer tries to get it out of him," Elijah informed her. "Don't worry, I'll still remember. I don't think he has any interest in questioning me."

"Well, let's hope he doesn't have any interest in questioning Klaus either," Sybil shuddered. "That's what I would like very much."

"Yes," Klaus nodded, sitting down next to her and taking her in his arms before eying his brother. "Thank you for your help, Elijah."

"You're welcome," Elijah replied and put a hand on Klaus' shoulder. "I'm very sorry it had to be this way."

"Yeah," Klaus nodded. "Me too."

* * *

As it turned out, what they'd done hadn't happened a moment too soon. The following day, Lucifer appeared in Sybil and Klaus' living room. Fortunately, Sybil was gone at the time, so Klaus dealt with him alone.

"Where's the child?" Lucifer asked, grabbing Klaus by his collar. "Where's your son? I've come to take him."

"Son?" Klaus asked. "What son? I don't have a son!" Elijah had compelled him to forget where Christopher had been sent, but he thought that pleading ignorance of Christopher all together would be better.

"Oh, don't be an idiot!" Lucifer cried, his eyes flashing red. "I _know_ you have a son named Christopher who's part demon and part a bunch of other things, and that because of that, there's no way he could have a normal life here on earth, even by supernatural standards. Giving him to me and letting me put him among his kind is a mercy."

"I told you before," Klaus said resolutely. "I don't have a son. I don't know what you're talking about."

Lucifer just sighed and looked at him with pity in his eyes. "It's a real shame you had to make this difficult," he said. "If you had played nice with me, I could have been in and out, no harm done. But now I have to get tough. And when I get tough, you hurt!"

"Go ahead and do it!" Klaus hissed. "I don't care!"

When Sybil returned shortly after Lucifer left the house, she found Klaus in a crumpled, bloody heap, with a swollen eye, a busted lip, and legs and arms bent at odd angles. He didn't seem to be moving. "Klaus?" She asked. "Klaus, oh, my god!" She got down on her knees next to him and ran a hand along his back. Then he's eyes slowly opened and he spoke to her in a weak voice.

"He came," Klaus got out. "Lucifer came for Christopher. Call Elijah and tell him that it's time to enact plan B."

"What's plan B?" Sybil asked.

"I'll let him tell you," Klaus replied. "Just get him on the phone, now!"

"But we have to get you to a hospital!" Sybil cried. "You look awful!"

"I'm in pain, but it can wait," Klaus insisted. "Call Elijah, Sybil. Please."

* * *

She did, and he came running to the house, along with someone else that Klaus thought he would never see again.

"Alistair," Klaus smiled at the warlock who had, for many centuries, been his lackey and only close confidant, although recently the anti-demon sentiment in the magical world had pulled them apart. "What are you doing here?"

"Elijah thought you might need some patching up," Alistair explained, his dark eyes full of concern as he and Elijah helped Klaus sit up and he held a cup out to the wounded man. "Drink this. It'll help heal those broken bones of yours."

"All right," Klaus nodded and shut his eyes as Sybil helped him drink it. "Good."

Once the cup was empty, they laid him out on the sofa and Sybil watched him, brushing some of his curls out of his eyes. "Will he be all right?" She questioned. "Just what did you give him?"

"Oh, it works," Elijah assured her. "Selina drank it once after an unfortunate encounter with my mother. He's healed now. He's just going to be very weak and you'll have to help him do things like eating and bathing for a while. I assume that's not a problem?"

"No," Sybil shook her head as Klaus chuckled to himself. "It's fine. It'll give me something to occupy my mind. I'm grateful for it."

"Good," Alistair said. "Is there anything else I can do for you before I go?"

"No, we're good, thank you," Sybil assured him. "I think I can take things from here."

* * *

Alistair and Elijah left after that to get Christopher.

"Thank you so much for your help," Elijah told Alistair as they drove. "I know my brother appreciates it, even though in a way, it puts you in a very difficult position."

"Well, Klaus needs help and there are very few people in his life that he would trust with something as important as the life of his son," Alistair said. "I couldn't refuse."

"And was Astrid unhappy with you for agreeing to this?" Elijah questioned. "I hope this doesn't cause much strain between you."

"When I told her that it was to help Klaus, she understood," Alistair replied. "She wasn't over the moon about it, but she's not going to hold it against me, either."

"Good," Elijah nodded, his hands tightening on the steering wheel of his black BMW. "I suppose that's better than nothing, I guess."

They had no trouble getting Christopher out of the orphanage. In fact, it was obvious that everyone was glad to see the poor little boy go.

"Now, do you want me to come to the cave with you?" Elijah questioned. They had decided that the best thing would be to have Alistair and Christopher take shelter in an isolated cave because areas that were barely populated held no interest for the king of the demons, so he wouldn't look for Christopher there. "Or do we just say 'Goodbye' now?"

"I wouldn't mind a little company going into the cave," Alistair responded. "It'll be the last bit of social activity I have with an adult for who knows how long, so I can take it while I can."

They reached the cave after some hiking and sat and talked for a little bit before finally, and reluctantly separating.

"I should probably get back to Klaus and Sybil," Elijah sighed as he watched Alistair cradle his nephew. "They probably want assurance that everything is settled."

"Yes," Alistair nodded. "Go ahead and go. We'll be fine here."

"I know," Elijah said. "Thank you for your help."

"You're welcome," Alistair nodded. "Everything will be fine, I promise. Will you make sure Klaus and Sybil know that?"

"Yes, I will," Elijah nodded. "But I'm sure that since they know you're part of all this, they know that all ready." He and Alistair then bade one another goodbye and then Elijah went home to tell a very relieved Sybil and Klaus that their son was safe.

* * *

Elijah woke up the following morning to a bunch of alarming bangs and whirring noises coming from the kitchen of his house. "Amy!" He cried. "Amy, what is going on here? Would you care to explain?"

"Damn!" Amy swore. "What did you have to go and wake up for? I was hoping to make a quick exit so we could avoid all the fuss and hurt feelings."

It was then that Elijah noticed the suitcases by the door. "You're still leaving?" He asked. "You went beyond the initial twenty-four hours for sure and we've done nothing but satisfy each other physically, only pausing to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom and...you still want to go? But why? I don't understand? Were you just pretending? Did you hate it?"

"No, I didn't hate it," Amy shook her head. "I enjoyed myself very much, but I still think we need time apart, at least until Lily comes back and you are able to reacquaint yourself with the kind and patient man I fell in love with."

"I'm sorry, but...I miss her," Elijah replied. "I know it's made me a bit of a beast, but I can't help it!"

"I know that, and I'm not asking you to hide your grief," Amy replied. "You need to express it just as much as I do. My being gone will help. And I'm sorry about all the noise. Like I told you, I didn't mean to wake you." She went to get her bags and they kept sliding away every time she ran toward them, and then, she fainted.

"Oh, my god, are you all right?" Elijah picked her up. "I know you want to leave, but maybe you should lie down for a bit until we're sure that you and the baby are okay."

"How do you know I'm pregnant?" Amy asked, giving him a look.

"Well, the mess of the kitchen means you ate a lot, your powers are out of control...and perhaps the reason why you've been so insatiable lately has to do with that too." Elijah smiled. "We're going to be parents again, Amy! Terrible timing for you, I know, but...there it is."

"Oh, it's not so terrible," Amy said. "Why would it be terrible? I've wanted for us to have a child of our own for quite some time. If it's because you think that my being pregnant will mean I have to stay here with you instead of leaving...that's not true. I can manage."

"Yes, but do you want to?" Elijah asked. "Do you honestly think that's the best decision? Or is it something you're deciding so your pride's not damaged?"

"Who are you to lecture me on how shameful it is to do things based on pride?" Amy questioned, her eyes narrowed. "You do things to protect your ego all the time. If I want to leave for a while, I can. I don't need you to coddle me. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

Elijah sighed. He really thought she was making the wrong decision. Not just because it involved leaving him. He also didn't like the thought of her handling something as major as a pregnancy alone when she didn't have to. But maybe that was something that she'd have to see for herself. Clearly she was unwilling to see reason when it was coming from his mouth.

"All right," he sighed at last. "Let me get dressed and I'll help you carry your bags out to the car. Do you have a place to stay? I don't want you wandering around the streets with no roof over your head."

"Thank you for your concern," Amy told him. "But I've talked to Margot. My sister says that she and Kol will take me in for a time."

"Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Elijah questioned, an eyebrow raised. "It seems awfully stressful."

"Maybe to you, but it's what I want," Amy replied. "Please, if you really want to help, don't tell me how wrong I am. Just help me get my things to the car and drive me to my sister's, all right?"

"All right," Elijah nodded. "I'll be dressed in a few minutes and then we can go."

* * *

"It was _horrible_ , Daddy!" Sarah sobbed as she sat on the couch at her parents' house with her head on Matthew's chest and Ellie's hand on her shoulder. "I thought seeing Josh again would be wonderful, but he caught me at the most awful moment and he thought I was cheating on him! And he doesn't even think our child is his! Well," she conceded, "I guess he does a little because he gave me his blood so I could be a demon, but still...if you could have seen the look on his face! It was like I had taken a knife and just carved his heart out. But I wasn't kissing Sean in a romantic way. I don't feel things for him like that!" She sniffled. "Oh, Daddy, what should I do?"

"I don't know what to tell you, darlin'," Matthew replied. "But I agree with you when you say that it's all an unfortunate misunderstanding. I know you well enough that it couldn't be anything else." He paused. "And hold onto the fact that he wanted you to turn into a demon to make it through delivery. That means he still has some faith in you, even if it's very deep down."

"Mom, I know how to fix this," Ellie said. "Daddy wouldn't approve, but I can't just sit and watch you be sad when I have the power to make things better! I can bring Daddy home!"

"How?" Matthew asked.

"Nothing that would interest you, Daddy," Sarah told him quickly. "Just a bunch of boring red tape, that's all. Ellie, would you walk with me?"

They walked until they were behind a closed door, and Sarah said, "What is this way to get your father back? Tell me!"

"I'd have to go live with Lucifer," Ellie sighed. "I don't want to, but it's the only way to get Daddy back, so that makes it worth it to me."

"No," Sarah shook her head. "I mean, I'm touched you want to help, but...but that is _not_ the way to do it! You _know_ your father wouldn't want to come back knowing that you were doomed instead!"

"Oh, I know that!" Ellie nodded. "Don't you think I know that? But there really is no other way around it. Lucifer has made it clear that the _only_ way all the demons will get to return to their loved ones is if I go with him. And I can't just sit here and watch you cry. It hurts me too much. You deserve Daddy back."

"What kind of a mother would I be if I just let you make this sacrifice for me?" Sarah asked, putting her hands on Ellie's shoulders and giving her a shake. "No! As much as I miss your father, I won't let you leave!"

"Lucifer's going to have me anyway," Ellie reminded her in a low voice. "He said so. That's the whole reason why he had me grow up. Wouldn't we both feel better about that if I went with him of my own free will rather than him just showing up and taking me?"

"Yes," Sarah sighed and tried to muster up a smile for her. "If you..if it's as inevitable as you believe it is that you'll be going with him, I suppose it would be best if you went with your head held high. You're right, Ellie Bean. Take care of yourself. Be careful. And don't make it easy on him."

"I won't," Ellie swore and gave a wink. "I think that goes without saying."

* * *

Her decision made, Ellie decided not to do it halfway. She went out and bought a knee-length black velvet dress with a sweetheart neckline (more modest than what he'd made her wear at the restaurant, but still much sexier than she was used to), high heels, and a few other things, went home, zapped on some make-up, and then called for Lucifer.

"My, my," he remarked with a smile. "You call for me _and_ you look ravishing," he pulled her close against him. "What's the occasion?"

Ellie sighed. "I-I've decided to come with you," she said. "For good."

"It's nice you're so cheerful about it," he told her. "It's for your mother, isn't it?"

"Yes," Sarah nodded. "Give my dad back to her. Please?"

"That was the deal," Lucifer nodded. "I told you that if you agreed to come with me, the demons would be returned to earth. I'm an honest man. I don't go back on my word."

"Good," Ellie nodded. "I should hope not!"

"So...are we going now?" He asked.

"First, I would like to make a few more demands," Ellie said. "I actually want to see the demons return before we go. I want to know that once we reach hell, I'll get anything I ask for. And I do mean _anything._ And lastly...I want to bring my fish."

"Fish don't do well in hell unless they're cooked and covered with lemon," Lucifer informed her. "I could get you a nice dog. We have quite a few of them there."

"I want my fish!" Ellie cried. "If you're worried about it surviving, my dad made it with magic, so it could survive the apocalypse!"

Lucifer sighed. "Oh, all right. I suppose it's just a fish. Go grab him and I'll get everyone back like I promised."

"Thank you." Ellie told him. "And what about the other stuff I asked for?"

"That's all fine too," Lucifer assured her. "Just please stop dawdling!"

* * *

She got to her house and grabbed Fishy, then, just as she was making her way out the door, she gasped and felt herself tear up. Her mother and father were standing close together and and staring at one another. Her mother seemed about to cry, and her father was just frozen. Not looking at one another with rapture, confusion. She even thought she heard her father say, "Who are you?" But given how suddenly he'd returned, that was to be expected. Ellie hoped her father would let her mother explain. Mom deserved that. She deserved to be happy.

She thought about pausing to tell them 'Goodbye' one last time, but then decided that would be more painful than her just leaving. She bid them a whispered farewell, zapped herself out of the house, then, with Fishy in her arms, went to meet Lucifer so he could take her to her new home.


	14. I'll See You In Hell

"I'm so glad you finally decided to come to your senses and join me, Eleanor," Lucifer smiled at her as Dexter led them both to her room in Lucifer's mansion, a building that resembled a Gothic cathedral but was pitch black. "It's nicer for everyone back on earth, that's for sure. Did you see that I brought the demons back just like I promised?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "Dad asked Mom who she was, but that was just a side-affect of coming back, right?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded without missing a beat. "Of course."

They found themselves outside the room that would be Ellie's and when Dexter opened the door, she was dismayed to see a bed draped in black canopy up against a red painted wall.

"Do you have any other color schemes around here besides black and red?" Ellie asked, and winced as a scream rang out from nearby, nearly cracking Fishy's bowl as she placed it on the bedside table.

"Sorry about that," Lucifer told her apologetically. "The mansion is right by the torture chambers. The screams of the damned are music to my ears, but we can find a way to help you deal with them, I promise."

"Oh, goody," Ellie sighed and fixed Fishy's bowl. "That makes me feel better." She paused. "I guess the only good part about this is that I get my own room. That surprises me."

"This is just temporary," Lucifer informed her. "Until you've adjusted to your circumstances. Then, of course, you'll sleep with me!"

"Of course," Ellie sighed and got into the bed, pulling the covers over herself. "I knew it was too good to be true!"

Lucifer just stared at the lump under the covers, unsure of what to do.

"Don't worry about it," Dexter assured him. "I'll take care of it. You do what you need to do."

"Thank you," Lucifer nodded. "You do whatever you have to to help her get adjusted. I don't care what it is. Give her anything she wants, take her into any room, it doesn't matter. If you think it will make her happy, just do it, all right?"

"All right, boss, I will," Dexter promised.

"Thank you," Lucifer replied and strode out of the room. Dexter then turned to the lump in the bed. Ever since Ellie had arrived. Since she'd arrived, he'd taken on his human appearance to make her more comfortable. In that form, he resembled a mild-mannered accountant in khaki pants, loafers, and a striped shirt, non-threatening and easily approachable.

He made his way to the bed and gently pulled the covers off Ellie, noticing that she was shaking. "Hi," he said. "The boss is gone now."

"Good," Ellie replied. "And the screaming seems to have stopped."

"Well, at least for now," Dexter told her. "It'll start again, though. You want me to take you to a place in the house where you can't hear it?"

Ellie sat up. "Is there really such a place here? Sure, I'd love to go!" She paused and looked him over. "Don't take this the wrong way, but...is that how you really look? Are you an accountant who did something really bad like embezzle a bunch of money and then wound up in hell?"

"Oh, no, no," Dexter shook his head. "This is just my human appearance. I'm a demon. I look like this because I thought it would help your adjustment."

"That's very sweet of you, but you don't have to do that," Ellie assured him. "You can be who you are. I can handle it."

But despite that confidence, she let out a shriek when a red demon with a pot-belly, glasses, (oddly enough), hooves, and claws sat next to her.

"Yes, I'm ugly, I know," he told her as he noticed she was trying not to stare. "But I try to be kind. I really do. I promise."

His gentle voice made her feel comfortable enough to reach out for his hand. "Thank you," she told him. "That puts you several steps above your monster of a boss."

"I know he seems awful," Dexter agreed. "That's the nature of his position. He was not allowed to be kind. It's not supposed to be natural for him. But deep, _deep_ down, he's a man of many feelings. A man of great sensitivity, who wants nothing more than to be loved."

Ellie scoffed at this. "If he wants to be loved, he's not really doing anything to make me want to love him if that was the point of him insisting I come to be with him."

"Maybe he just needs to be shown how," Dexter guessed. "I know it's annoying, and it will feel at times like you're giving a lot more than you're getting, but I really think it'll be worth it in the end. Will you at least try? Please?"

"Oh, all right," Ellie sighed. "Why not? It isn't like I have much else to do. Can we go see the quiet room now?"

"Sure," Dexter nodded. "Let's go!"

* * *

He led her through a maze of seemingly endless, twisting hallways until they reached a heavy door made of black walnut. "There is a library behind here," Dexter told Ellie. "The boss and I are the only ones who know about this place because it's where he goes when he wants to be truly alone. Now you know about it too."

"Really?" Ellie asked as a key appeared in his hand and he unlocked the door, allowing her to go ahead of him and look around. "So many books!" She remarked, feeling awestruck. Then she blinked and pointed at a corner of the room. "Is that a bed over there? Why?"

"Sometimes. he's in here so long that he just falls asleep, and having a bed is so much more comfortable than sleeping in a chair all night," Dexter explained. "It could be useful to you as well."

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "It just might." She then stood in silence. "I hear nothing," she remarked. "Absolutely nothing. I like it."

"Should I just leave you here, then?" Dexter questioned. "And if the boss needs you, I'll bring him here."

"Thank you for showing me this place, Dexter," Ellie told him. "I appreciate it. This could be the one place that makes living her bearable for me."

"You're welcome," Dexter inclined his head. "And if...if it's not overstepping my boundaries, I hope we can be friends, Miss Ellie."

"I think we can," Ellie smiled. "I'd like that."

Dexter then left her alone in the library and she scoped out the best chair and tried to decide which book to read first.

* * *

"I see Dexter showed you my library," Lucifer told Ellie when he later found her. "Is it a place of comfort to you?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "I hope you don't mind. He told me that only you and he and now I, know about it."

"Of course I don't mind," Lucifer told her. "What are you reading?"

"Just getting acquainted with my new home," Ellie remarked and showed him the copy of _The Divine Comedy_ that she'd buried herself in. "Is all of it true?"

"Not exactly," Lucifer shook his head. "Mr. Alighieri took some liberties for drama's sake."

"Well, that's good to know," Ellie told him. "I noticed there was a bed in here. This might become my room permanently if the shrieking of the damned is gonna keep me awake in my other room. I need sleep!"

"I'm working on that, I swear," Lucifer promised. "Why don't I take you on a tour? You might find it interesting, since you just asked me about the punishments and all."

"Don't expect me to torture people or anything like that," Ellie said as they left the bedroom. "Cause I won't."

"No, no," Lucifer promised. "I won't make you do that. I have demons who do the torturing for me when I'm not able to." As they left the house and began walking across the dry, fiery, red-sky covered wasteland that was hell, he said, "Now you'll see just how true _Inferno_ is."

"All right, let's do it," Ellie told him. "I'm not afraid."

"Good," He told her. "Because I really want to show you how we operate around here. My job is to punish those I believe have committed one or more of the seven deadly sins. Each level of hell hosts a sin, and the punishment for that since is connected to it. Like people who are guilty of envy have their eyes sewn shut for instance, since envy is such a visual sin. Clever, huh?"

"Awful!" Ellie shuddered, bumping into such a person because they wandered aimlessly around hell and were not contained like the others.

"Of course, that's one of the older ways to do the punishments," Lucifer said and zapped her to a room with a long table where people with their arms secured behind their backs were being force fed large cakes.

"Gluttony," Lucifer clicked his teeth and looked at Ellie sorrowfully. "Not a pretty sin at all."

"No, oh, my god!" Ellie cried. "Take me somewhere else!"

" _None_ of them are pretty," Lucifer warned. "They'll all frighten you."

"I don't care!" Ellie begged. "Let me out of here!"

So Lucifer zapped them to another area where men and women were unclothed and writhing in agony as their bodies were consumed by fire over and over again.

"Lust?" Ellie questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Let me guess: you spend a lot of time down here because these are your people?"

"You say that like it's something I should be ashamed of, Eleanor!" Lucifer chuckled. "But you have to be more forgiving of poor souls like these. Lust is so easy to be consumed by."

"Not for me," Ellie shrugged.

"Just wait," he told her.

They then found themselves in a dark forest, and Ellie was overcome by a feeling of sadness and hopelessness. "What...what's going on?" She asked Lucifer. "Why...why do I feel like this?"

"It's the slothful," he explained. "They really emote, don't they?"

Ellie began to sob, but when she got down on her knees in front of a slow running creek to splash water on her face, she let out a shriek as a moaning figure rose from the water, grabbed her arm, and nearly pulled her along with him as he was sucked back into the creek

"Help!" Ellie cried. "Lucifer, help!"

"Just a minute, Eleanor!" Lucifer shouted, grabbing her free hand and pulling her out of the damned soul's grip. "It's all right," he told her as she clung to him. "You're safe."

"So I know about envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth," Ellie told him as they rushed away. "What horrors are in store for me next?"

"The one sin that I believe _you_ need to be wary of," Lucifer replied cheerfully as they appeared in what looked like a gladiatorial arena. Men and women were ripping each other apart in various ways...swords, knives, bombs, their fists...it didn't matter, while in the stands, another group cheered and shouted loudly.

"What in the hell?" Ellie asked. "I...this isn't me!"

"Wrath," Lucifer explained. "You can be quite wrathful, Eleanor. Those in the stands will have their turn to fight too. You can if you want."

"I'm only mad all the time because you _make_ me be!" Ellie cried. "You're a pain in the butt and you don't even seem to be aware of the trouble you cause."

He led her into the arena and handed her a spiked club, zapping the current fighters back to the stands as everyone howled and began throwing rotten fruit. "Just a minute now!" He cried. "You'll get your fight, don't worry. I just thought you'd want to see _me_ get what's coming to me by one of your own." He turned to Ellie. "Would you care to introduce yourself, Eleanor?" He asked. "Tell them who you are and why you're here." He gave her a little push forward and she scoffed.

"I'm Ellie," she got out. "And I'm...I guess I'm wrathful."

A cheer went up, and everyone began chanting her name.

"All right, hit me," Lucifer instructed. "Beat me to death. You know you want to, and you have the perfect weapon."

"I won't do it!" Ellie shook her head. "No matter how mad you make me, I won't kill you."

Lucifer cleared his throat. "When I sent the demons back, it was without memories of their loved ones," he told her. "So your father not knowing your mother isn't just a side effect of being brought back. I did it deliberately."

Ellie's jaw hung open and she was overcome with rage such as she'd never allowed herself to feel before. She lifted the club over her head and immediately began beating Lucifer with it, one sharp blow after another, not stopping until he was still on the ground, blood gushing out of several wounds. Then she got down on her knees. She'd gone too far.

"Well, well, well, wasn't that fun?" He asked, his eyes popping open as he got to his feet again. "I'm so glad you're capable of emotion, Eleanor. I'm very proud of you. You have greed and pride next. Where to?"

"It doesn't matter," Ellie told him. "And there better be a way to get Daddy to remember Mom again. You can't just bring everyone back and have them not remember the people they love forever!"

"Oh, I'm _sure_ they'll find a way to remember again," Lucifer told her. "They've always been very hard to control, that lot, and this will be no exception."

"Good," Ellie spat, her eyes narrowed as she wished she still had that club. "I'm glad."

Next, they encountered greed: The greedy were, of course, weighed down by the material goods they hoarded during their lifetimes, carrying them on their backs and barely able to walk.

Some bore the sin a bit differently: they were in a spot that gave them a view of what Ellie assumed was heaven from all the bright light. The sinner, pushing his weight toward that light, his eyes full of hope, just told himself that if he could get there, he would be home free, only to lose his balance, fall down the hill along with the weight, and have to start all over again.

"Fitting, isn't it?" Lucifer remarked.

"Yes, but a bit mean to make them think they're getting rewarded, only to have it taken away," Ellie said.

"Well, when you withhold from those who can't help themselves but are much better people than you are, how else should you be punished?" Lucifer questioned. "You were in a position to give hope and help, but you kept for yourself instead. Onward now."

They arrived at the last sin, pride. Unsurprisingly, the first thing Ellie saw in the room was a large chair with an equally large picture of Lucifer hanging above it.

"Did we end up at your office or something?" Ellie asked. "I thought we were supposed to be seeing pride!"

"Oh, but you are!" Lucifer told her. "Don't you know that this was my big sin? I thought I was better than humans and demanded that that be acknowledged. I went and I messed with them and my father wasn't too happy about it, so here I landed. This is just a reminder to the prideful that I'm just as sinful as everyone else." He then led her into another room where a bunch of people in fine clothes were doing menial tasks, most of them disgusting, like mucking out horse stalls.

"This isn't bad," Ellie remarked. "I kind of like this."

"I would think that the idea of people who think they're too good for the world getting their comeuppance would be appealing to you," Lucifer nodded. "These people would not lower themselves in life to do what they're being forced to now, so that's their punishment. It's so fun to watch." He took her toward a man who was locked into the stocks and handed her a rotting tomato. "Throw it at him," he urged. "Hit him right in the face. That's what he used to do with his servants. He never paid them much of a wage, either, even though without them, he wouldn't even know how to properly feed himself."

"It's terrible to treat someone that way," Ellie agreed. "I hope he's learning his lesson. I hope everyone here is." She then tugged on Lucifer's arm. "May I go back to the library now, please?"

"All right," Lucifer nodded after chucking the tomato in the man's face. "Let's go, Eleanor."

* * *

"I don't understand how I can be a total stranger to you!" Sarah yelled at Josh in frustration. "We're married! I'm pregnant with your baby!"

"Oh, I don't think so," Josh shook his head. "You must have mistaken me for someone else, because I would remember if I was married or going to be a father and I don't remember anything like that."

"Well it's true!" Sarah cried and then grabbed Junior, who was just coming into the house. "Josh is back," she said in a low voice. "And he doesn't seem to know anything, so would you tell him that he and I are married?"

But when they came into the room, Josh grinned. "I guess this other man is your husband," he surmised. "I knew that when you were saying I was, it was some sort of mistake. You two make such a nice couple."

Sarah showed her teeth and swayed on her feet a little as she clutched her stomach. "What are you just standing there for?" Josh yelled at Junior, who was doing nothing. "Help your wife, for crying out loud!" He sighed and caught Sarah just before she fainted and carried her to a chair. "I'll get you some water," he told her. He came back with it and handed her the glass.

"What happened?" He questioned.

"Just a little dizzy," Sarah replied. "And I had some cramps." She reached out after finishing her water. "Will you carry me to bed?"

Josh obligingly picked her up and carried her to her bed to tuck her in, then bade her goodnight. "I don't know what's wrong with your husband," he smiled at her. "But I hope you feel better soon."

As he left, Sarah realized that no matter what she told him, it wouldn't help him remember.

"He still doesn't know the truth?" Junior asked after he knocked and she let him come in. "I'm sorry. How are you feeling?"

"A littel better," Sarah nodded and sat up. "I just don't understand how he could _not_ know me! Why does this always happen? Why do my relationships always get screwed up?"

"Well," Junior sighed, "in our case, it was my fault. I can make all the excuses I want about how I had a good reason for leaving, but that doesn't erase the fact that there was cowardice in my decision too. I left because I just wasn't ready for the responsibility that would have been put on my shoulders if I would have stayed, so I ran. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to handle everything alone when you were as unprepared as I was. I'm sorry I hurt you and Ellie. I really am."

"Thank you," Sarah replied and hugged him. "Thank you very much."

"And Ellie turned out great, thanks to you and Josh," Junior continued. "I know he loves you very much and I'm sure that eventually, he'll come back to you. I am."

"Oh, I hope so," Sarah nodded. "Cause I've just lost Ellie. I can't stand the thought of losing Josh too. I just can't. And now...having him here but not knowing me...that's even worse than if he were gone."

Junior then hugged her and let her cry before saying, "You wanna get out of the house for a bit? Go get an ice cream? We can do it while I move my stuff back to my place."

"Sure," Sarah nodded. "I would love that."


	15. Don't Be Afraid

"So what do you want to do today, Eleanor?" Lucifer asked, sneaking into the library and putting his hands on Ellie's shoulders. "Make another visit to those who commit your favorite sin of wrath? You seemed to have a lot of fun with them."

"It was not a fun thing," Ellie corrected. "It was just catharsis. I was mad at you and beating you to death with that club, even though you popped right back up afterwards, helped. I am not making a habit of going to visit the wrathful." She paused. "But I _will_ punch you in the face if you call me Eleanor one more time. Why do you do that? Why can't you call me Ellie like everyone else? My name is Ellie!" She pounded her fists on the armrests. "Ellie, Ellie, Ellie, Ellie, Ellie!"

"But Ellie is a _baby_ name!" Lucifer pointed out. "Since you're the queen of hell, don't you want something a little more...regal? Something more fit for the woman that you are? Besides, Eleanor means 'Bright, shining one', and that's just like my name. Light-bringer. I brought light. It's like we match." He grinned. "Isn't that charming?"

"Yes," Ellie scoffed. "Whatever you say. Can you leave now? I'm in the middle of my book."

"Oh, all right, I'll leave," Lucifer promised. "But at least let me say goodbye first."

"How?" Ellie put her book down and eyed him suspiciously. "Just how do you want to say goodbye?"

"Stand up," Lucifer instructed.

"Oh, all right," Ellie sighed. "Let's get this over with. I'll give you want you want, but I don't have to like it."

Lucifer gently grabbed her around the waist and pulled her against him, sniffing her skin. "You smell very nice," he said.

"I'm sure it's a nice break from the smell of fire and brimstone," Ellie replied. "I'm not surprised you like it." Then, she shut her eyes and breathed in as she felt his lips on her neck. They felt good against her cool skin, but she didn't want him to know that. "Wait!" She cried and pulled away. "Stop!"

"Why?" Lucifer asked. "I thought you were enjoying yourself. I felt that you were, even if you were trying to hide it from me."

"How can you know that?" Ellie put her hands on her hips.

"Oh, darling," he said with a pitying shake of the head. "I'm the devil. I can sense desire a mile away. You should know that by now. Or at least admit it."

"But then won't I burst into flames like the rest of the lustful?" Ellie questioned.

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "You will not. I promise. You are not damned. You are my guest."

Ellie scoffed. "You know, some people might consider that the same thing. I really don't see a difference."

"Give it time," Lucifer promised her. "In time, I promise you that you will. You might even find that you can like me."

"I doubt it," Ellie told him as he finally left the library and shut the door behind him. Nothing would make her actually enjoy living here, she knew. And there certainly wouldn't be anything that would make her feel one bit sorry for him, either.

* * *

"Are you all right?" Dexter asked Lucifer one morning soon after when it was past time to torture the damned and he still hadn't gotten out of bed yet. "Everyone's waiting for their punishments and you know things go so much better when the demons know you'll be watching.

"Give them my regrets, please," Lucifer apologized and winced. "I-I don't feel very well today. Since Eleanor's come, I've felt a little under the weather, but today, it's worse."

"What do you mean you don't feel well?" Dexter asked. "Since when does the devil take sick days?"

"I don't want to, Dexter," Lucifer replied, wincing and curling up into a ball. "But I hurt. I don't know why. I've never felt like this before."

"Would you like me to go get Miss Ellie?" Dexter questioned. "Maybe she can help. Maybe she can make you feel better."

"It's possible," Lucifer agreed. "But I doubt she'd want anything to do with me now. I bet she'd be glad that I'm dying."

"At least let me tell her," Dexter urged. "Please."

"No," Lucifer got out. "Don't. Just let me die alone."

"Are you sure?" Dexter asked. "Cause it really wouldn't be a problem for me to-" He let out a cry as Lucifer hit him with a fireball.

"What part of go away and let me die alone do you not understand?" Lucifer shouted.

"All right, all right," Dexter replied, shaking the soot off himself and onto Lucifer's carpet. "Hold your fire. I get it." He left the room, every instinct he had begging him to tell Ellie about his master's suffering. But finally, good sense won out, and he tried to find something to occupy himself while he waited for the end.

* * *

As she read her book, Ellie became aware of a loud moaning outside. She tried to ignore it, but finally, with a growl of frustration, she threw her book down. She wasn't supposed to be able to hear tortured people in here! Dexter had promised, so what the hell was all that noise?

She followed it, and it led her out of the house for the first time. She seemed to be the only one who could hear it, or even if that wasn't true, she was the only one who was reacting.

"Who is it?" She called as she got closer and closer to the noise. "If you're a soul, I don't know if I can help you!" But then she saw the source of the noise and she put her hand over her mouth to hold in a scream.

Lucifer had been the source of the noise. He was curled up in a fetal position, pale and sweating, his breathing shallow and his face contorted with pain.

"Oh, my god!" She cried and got down on her knees beside him. "What's happened to you? Your voice really carries! I heard you in the library!"

"I'm...I'm sorry," Lucifer whispered and then winced. "I didn't mean to interrupt your reading." Then he let out a cry that just hurt her heart.

"What's going on with you?" She asked. "What are you doing? Is this just a trick to get me close to you? Cause it's pretty horrible to scare me like you are right now! Get up like you did when I beat you with that club! This isn't funny!"

"I can't," he got out in a whisper. "Eleanor, I'm dying. I feel like I'm burning up from the inside out."

"Let me help you," Ellie said and got down on her knees. "If this is true, you're not going to die alone on the concrete!" She helped him rest his head on her lap while holding his hand. "There," she said. "Is that better?"

"Yes," Lucifer replied. "Thank you...Ellie."

"It's all right," she said, moving some hair out of his eyes and then cursing as it began to rain and thunder, soaking them both. "Oh, crap. Does this happen a lot?"

"No," Lucifer got out. "That's strange. It's never rained before." He winced again and Ellie just felt so bad for him that what she did next was done without thinking. She leaned down and kissed him, then he sneezed.

"Sorry about that," he smiled. "Your hair tickled."

"Sorry," she apologized. She grabbed a hair tie out of her pocket, tied her hair back, and kissed him again.

"You have such beautiful eyes," he told her as she pulled back. "And you're a good kisser."

"Thanks," Ellie said. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"I did, Ellie," Lucifer told her and shut his eyes. "It'll be a good last memory."

"It won't be your last _anything_ ," she told him. "You'll get through this! And when you do, I'll have no problem with you calling me Eleanor."

That seemed to give him a little bit of strength so he was able to sit up and he gave her a grin. "I'm going to hold you to that, you know. I'm never going to let you forget it."

"Oh, I know," Ellie nodded. "It's nice to see you're much livelier now, and what a coincidence that it was right after I gave you exactly what you wanted. Don't I feel like the biggest fool in the world?"

"You're not a fool," Lucifer told her and lay back down. "You're just kind, although in some people that could be seen as the same thing."

"We have to get you inside," Ellie decided and tried to help him up. "If you're hurt, you need care. You can't just be lying on the ground like this."

"What a good idea!" Lucifer told her. "You've already shown yourself to be a confident nurse. Why don't _you_ take care of me and wear one of those lovely tiny little uniforms?"

"You're lucky that you're in pain and almost died, otherwise, I would smack you so hard right now!" Ellie said as she called for Dexter. "I'm calling some of your staff. They'll be more of a help to you than me, I'm sure."

"Oh, but Eleanor..." Lucifer complained as Ellie watched Dexter come toward them.

"Okay, your help is here. I'm going to get out of this rain now that you seem to be better. Goodbye!" Ellie sped away and once she was safely situated in the library once more, told herself that she would have to be more vigilant in the future and make sure he didn't trick her. Not that she felt he did it this time. He was probably really hurt. But he'd seemed to get better awfully fast, and that...that was when she really needed to watch him.

* * *

"Why did your husband leave?" Josh questioned Sarah as he reached out to touch her stomach after she got some water out of the fridge. "He really shouldn't have left when you have a baby on the way."

Sarah sighed and then an idea popped into her head. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this before: She ran into her and Josh's bedroom and got their wedding picture from the bedside table. "He's not my husband," she said. "You are. See?"

"Well, my god," Josh's jaw dropped a little. "That _is_ me! And who's that little girl I'm holding?"

"That's Ellie," Sarah sighed, turning away from him. "She's gone now."

"I'm sorry, did she die?" Josh asked. "Is that why we're having another one?"

"She didn't die," Sarah sighed. "She...she went with Lucifer so you and the other demons could come back from hell and be with your families. But you don't remember me, so what's the point?"

Then she put a hand to her belly, sinking to her knees on the kitchen floor. "No, now is not the right time. You can't be coming now, Hannah. It's too soon! Your daddy won't even know you!"

"Hannah?" Josh questioned. "Why did you pick that name?"

"I don't know," Sarah gritted her teeth. "I just like it, that's all. Will you help me get to a bed? Or at least help me sit down?"

"Yes," Josh nodded and got her to one of the kitchen chairs with a back on it, and a towel over the seat, then helped her off with her pants. "Are you sure you couldn't make it to a bed?" He asked.

"No," Sarah gritted her teeth and cried out. "I wish I could, but I can't. I can already feel the head start to come out! I guess I've been in labor all day and it wasn't just bad cramps!" Then she waited, but it didn't take long for baby Hannah to emerge, delivered by her father.

"Look at that," he said with a smile. Then his face changed and he looked back up at Sarah. "Sarah, we have a baby! One of our very own! Not that I don't consider Ellie mine of course, but...where is she, anyway? Is your mother watching her?" Then his eyes widened. "Wait, you said she went to hell with Lucifer! Why did you let her do that?"

"You seem very aware. Are you back to yourself? Do you know who I am?" Sarah asked, trying to get him to calm down so he didn't work up Hannah."

"Yes," Josh nodded. "You're Sarah and you're my wife, and you have a daughter named Ellie that I love very much, which is why I wonder why the hell she's in hell!"

Sarah took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "I'm so glad you're back. I'll tell you about Ellie, but not now," she assured him and took Hannah in her arms. "Let's just enjoy this moment of peace and you can be mad at me later. I suppose, in a sense, you have a right to be."

Josh wanted to press more about Ellie, and then decided that Sarah was right, at least for the moment. "All right," he agreed and kissed Hannah's head. "You're right; let's enjoy this moment. I love you, Sarah."

She began to cry again and hugged him back. "I love you too, Josh. And I'm so glad you're back!"

* * *

"There you go," Dorian grinned at Selina and handed her a glass of white wine. "You did say white, right?"

"Yes," Selina nodded with a smile. "Thank you." She took a sip and put the glass down as Dorian sat next to her and grinned while looking into her eyes.

"You know, you're very beautiful," he told her, taking her face in his hands. "I'm very surprised that I don't remember meeting you before. Or even marrying you, even though the pictures say we have. Would you mind doing it again?"

"Getting married?" Selina asked. "Sure. The first time around, it was sort of horrible anyway. Now, are you _sure_ you don't remember me?" She asked. "Cause you're not acting much differently than you usually do."

"Really?" Dorian leaned in and kissed her. "Good. I wouldn't want you to feel alone. Have you been lonely? You say that I've been gone sometime."

"Not long," Selina shook her head. "Not really. But long enough."

"Would it...would it be ungentlemanly to ask you to come to bed with me?" He asked her.

Selina shook her head. "Not if you don't think it's a problem for me to say 'Yes' when you don't even remember me."

He grinned and brought her to bed, but just as they were about to kiss after undressing, Selina changed her mind as her mother's voice, telling her to be careful about the sort of man she chose to join herself with, drifted through her mind. "I can't do this," she told him. "Not yet. And if...if this is all you're interested in, maybe you should go until you're back to your old self again."

"Oh, come now!" Dorian groaned as she threw his pants at him. "I know you want this as much as I do! I can sense it! And this is my apartment! You can't just throw me out of my own apartment. If you don't want to be around me, maybe _you're_ the one who should leave!"

"I can't do that," Selina shook her head. "It will be a terrible thing to have on your conscience when you're good again if I'm wandering around the streets with no roof over my head. So I'm staying here and you're leaving."

"And where do you suggest I go?" Dorian asked. "If you're going to throw me out of my own apartment, at least suggest a place where I can stay instead."

"You remember your friend Rodan, don't you?" Selina asked and went to get a piece of paper that she quickly scribbled on. "Here's his address. Go stay with him. Oh, but be careful with his wife, Katherine. If you try and put moves on her the way you did me, she won't be as kind as I'm being, I promise. Bye now. I hope you're not gone for long."

"I hope you won't be either," he replied, showing his teeth. "I'll wait for you tonight; I'll keep a space in my bed warm for you."

"Thanks, but I promise you'll be sleeping alone," Selina told him. "Cause the only guy I like sleeping with is my husband, and you might look like him, but believe me, he is a hell of a lot nicer than you." She then followed him out the door to make sure he actually left, locked it behind her, and then went to pour herself a drink.


	16. Pushing Every Limit

"Well look at this," Katherine said when she opened the door and let Dorian in. "Let me guess...you don't know me either."

"No, but I was kicked out of my own home and Selina told me to come stay here, even though she told me first that she wanted to sleep with me, so I don't know what her problem is," Dorian shrugged.

"You are _so_ charming," Katherine told him dryly. "It's a total mystery why she would want to kick you out." She then called for Rodan. "You have a friend come to visit, Rodan! Why don't you show him to his room so I don't have to look at him anymore?"

Rodan appeared a few seconds later and frowned at her. "I don't know why you have to be so mean to my friend," he said. "Be polite to guests."

"Well, he was mean to my friend," Katherine snapped. "So I think I have a right to be short with him if I choose to."

Rodan gave Dorian a look of pity. "Sorry you didn't get as nice a welcome home party as I did," he said and then gave Katherine a look. "We can go celebrate getting out of hell on our own. What do you say?"

"All right," Dorian smiled and clapped Rodan on the back. "Let's do it!"

They left and Katherine rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind them. Then she called Selina.

"How are you?" She asked when Selina answered. "Are you doing all right? I wanted to let you know that Dorian made it here all right."

"Good," Selina replied. "And I'm fine, I guess. I'll probably hate myself for sending Dorian away tomorrow."

"And just why is that?" Katherine questioned. "He's not the version of himself that's good for you."

"I know," Selina assured her. "But-"

"But it's been awhile since you've been in bed with somebody and you've got an itch that needs scratching," Katherine told her. "I know. Me too."

"And you're not gonna do anything about it?" Selina asked. "What's your secret? How are you going to stop yourself from going crazy? Find another guy?"

Katherine sighed. "I probably would have not too long ago. But now...now I just...for some reason, I don't want to. I think being with your son messed with my whole life outlook somehow so that now all I want to do is wait for Rodan."

"What?" Selina gasped.

"Hey, I know," Katherine agreed. "I'm shocked too." She paused. "Do you want me to find you some sort of distraction so that you don't do something you'll regret later?"

"Sure," Selina nodded. "That might be a good idea. Or I could just go visit my mother."

"How long has it been since you've seen Laura?" Katherine questioned, referring to Selina and Elijah's eldest daughter, who ran the hair salon where Katherine worked. "She told me that she's been to visit Elijah, but she hasn't said anything about you."

"I know it's been awhile since I've visited her, but I've always thought that since Dorian and I got together, she wouldn't want to see me," Selina explained. "But I would like to visit her now, I think."

"Good," Katherine replied. "Will you come to us, or do you want me to come and get you?" She paused. "Wait a minute, stupid question. Wait for me."

"I could drive to Laura's house," Selina assured her.

"You mean, you wouldn't give into any urge to go see Dorian and go see him instead if you were behind the wheel?" Katherine questioned. "I mean, not that you could see him now because he and Rodan are out celebrating their escape from hell and are probably gonna be really drunk tonight, but..."

"You know what, if you think it would be better for you to drive me, then just come and do it," Selina sighed. "I can wait. I don't care."

"Good," Katherine told her. "I'll see you in a little bit."

* * *

"Mom?" Laura asked in surprise as Katherine brought Selina into the salon. "Hi, Mom! You need a haircut?"

"Hi!" Selina smiled and hugged her daughter. "I don't know. Does it look like I need one? Cause if you think I do, I won't refuse you."

So Laura sat her down with some scissors and began snipping off her split ends. "What's going on?" She asked. "It's been awhile since we talked.

"Dorian got sent to hell, and then he came back and now he doesn't remember me," Selina told her. "It's like he's been totally reset or something. He's definitely not the guy I fell in love with, that's for sure."

"But she still wants to sleep with him," Katherine added. "And that's why we're here: to distract her so she doesn't do that."

"Is Rodan having the same problem since he's a demon too?" Laura asked Katherine. "Does he not remember you either?"

"Exactly," Katherine nodded. "That hasn't stopped him from trying to put the moves on me, though."

"So the way both of you are handling this is to just stay away until they come back to themselves?" Laura questioned. "That's kind of counterproductive if you ask me."

"So you're telling me I should sleep with Dorian?" Selina asked once her split ends were gone and Laura directed her over to the sink so she could have her hair washed.

"No, I'm not telling you to sleep with him if the sole reason to do it is to scratch an itch," Laura shook her head and worked the suds through her mother's hair. "I'm saying that maybe doing things like going out to dinner with him will help bring his memory back. Give him a push instead of just letting him alone and you might get what you want faster."

"What do you think?" Selina asked Katherine. "Is that a sound plan?"

"I wouldn't do it until you can be absolutely sure that you aren't gonna sleep with him," Katherine replied. "But in general, it's a very good plan." Then she paused as the phone rang and she had to answer it and make someone an appointment for a perm.

"Mrs. Jenkins?" Laura asked knowingly. "Why does she always ask for perms? They never look good on her." She sighed. "But if that's what she wants..." She paused. "Speaking of what people want," she said to her mother, "Did you actually want me to cut it, or just get rid of the bad ends?"

Selina peered at her shoulder-length brown hair in the mirror. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to cut a few inches off," she said. "What do you think?"

"I think it would be cute," Laura agreed. "Let's do it." She cut her mother's hair and then when Selina got out of the chair, she smiled. "So nice to see your handling this demon stuff so well. It's hit Dad hard."

"I bet it has, poor guy," Selina agreed. "Lily's really done him a lot of good. I bet things will get better for them, though."

"Yeah," Laura nodded. "I bet." Then she turned to Katherine. "You want to come to eat with us?"

"Yes," Katherine nodded and got up from her desk. "Let's go."

* * *

"You and I need to talk about how you desire me," Lucifer told Ellie when she came to check on him in his room for some reason that even she herself was not sure of.

"I don't!" Ellie shook her head. "All of that that went on between us yesterday was because I was concerned about you. Don't take it to be more than it is."

"You kissed me _twice_ ," he reminded her. "You didn't _have_ to do that. But you did it."

"That's cause I thought you were gonna die and wouldn't be able to lord it over me!" Ellie explained.

"Or you just wanted to kiss me," Lucifer shrugged. "There's no harm in admitting it. And if you're holding off because you think you'll burn, you won't. As my guest, like I've told you before, you're immune to that sort of punishment." He grinned, leaned forward, and took her hand, making circling motions on her palm with his thumb. "Come on, Eleanor. Isn't there a part of you that's curious about whether or not I'm telling the truth?"

"Oh, sure," Ellie nodded. "But I just don't think I'm going to test that right now."

"All right," Lucifer sighed. "I suppose I can wait."

"Thank you," Ellie replied. "I'm glad you understand."

He left and made her think that he was dropping the matter for the moment, in a way, he supposed he was. But what he had to do was prove to her that she could be sinful without anything bad happening to her, and then she might be more willing to be honest with herself about her lust. The question was...what other sin could he nudge her into committing? There had to be something...

* * *

"Well, look who's finally emerged from the library!" Lucifer grinned and came to help Ellie to a chair when she arrived in the dining room in answer to his summons to have lunch with him. "What made you accept my invitation? Cause I'm very much aware that you didn't have to, so I'm dying to know."

She shrugged. "I needed some air, I guess, and to get off my butt. And here's as good a place to come to as any other place."

"Oh, all right," Lucifer nodded. "I can accept that. So...what are you eating?"

"Well, what's being made?" Ellie questioned. "I'll have that."

"You can have anything you want," Lucifer told her. "That won't be any trouble at all. So what's the one food you want more than anything in the world right now?"

Ellie thought a moment. "Does it have to be a lunch thing? Cause I sorta..." she blushed. "I sorta want cake. Chocolate cake."

"All right, chocolate cake it is, then," Lucifer smiled and called for it to be brought to her, and Ellie's eyes widened when the large cake was put in her place.

"Oh, my god!" She cried. "It...it looks so good!" She grabbed a fork and began eating, and eating, and eating, hardly coming up for a breath until there was nothing on the plate but crumbs.

"I see you like that," he chuckled.

Ellie burped and grabbed the plate to lick the extra frosting off, then she froze and lowered the plate right back down on to the table. "Oh, my god..." she said. "I just ate a whole cake!"

"You did," Lucifer nodded. "It was very impressive. "I have to congratulate you."

Ellie got to her feet and shook her head. "I ate a whole cake! Who does that? It just...it was so good! I couldn't think of anything but having more and more until it was gone..." She put a hand to her mouth. "I was _gluttonous!"_

"No, you were not," Lucifer shook his head. "You were not gluttonous. I haven't forgotten that you've only been the age you are for a short time and you were only a toddler before that. Now you're in a position where you're not watched over in the same way you were before, so you're testing limits. That's not the same as sinning, as doing something with intense and flippant disregard for the moral good."

"So I won't be taken away by demons?" Ellie asked as Lucifer handed her a napkin to clean the chocolate frosting off her face.

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "I told you that a million times. You might have a bad tummy ache, but that's all."

"Good," Ellie nodded. "I think I'm gonna go lie down now."

"You want me to come tuck you in?" He called after her.

"No," Ellie shook her head as she walked away. "No, thank you."

* * *

"Okay," Ellie told Lucifer as she made her way into his room again that night. "Since you won't shut up about how much I like you, and that stunt with the cake made me feel better about being more comfortable with my urges, I am going to make you a proposal that will help both of us in the lust department."

"Listening," Lucifer got out. "What do you have in mind? It _does_ actually involve touching and kissing, right?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "It does, I swear. Here are the rules: Every day for the next couple of days, I am going to wear a different amount of clothing. Less each day. And you can touch, kiss, do whatever you want...to the skin that's exposed and I will not object. That means that in this outfit-" She gestured to her jeans, short-sleeved shirt with a low (but not outrageously low) neckline, and bare feet-you can kiss neck, hands, arms, fingers, face..."

But she didn't even get to finish her sentence. He pulled her to him, freeing her hair from its tie and taking her hand and kissing each finger before slowly licking her neck. "Oh, geez," she said, getting hit with a wave of feelings and nearly falling over so that he had to hold her up. "I'm glad I started slow because beginning naked would have killed me at this rate!"

"Oh, Eleanor..." he whispered into her hair while taking a breath as his fingers locked in hers. "You're going to be the death of me, Eleanor." He pulled her shirt down a little and kissed the exposed skin of her chest.

"Hey!" Ellie cried, even though she was beginning to enjoy herself very much. "That's cheating!"

"When did I ever promise to play fair?" Lucifer smiled. "You should know that about me by now. And it seems like you're enjoying yourself, so what's the problem?"

Ellie frowned at him. and for a moment, he thought he'd gone too far and she would leave. Then she just shook her head, a slow smile curving her lips as she played with his hair.

"Now, this deal of ours doesn't mean you have to stay clothed just because I am," she said and helped him off with his shirt as he grinned. "You can remove whatever you want."

"All right," Lucifer chuckled. "I like your style." He then chuckled as she pushed him against the wall and kissed him hard.

"I thought you were new at this," he told her. "It seems like little miss Ellie is more eager than I thought."

"Does that bother you?" Ellie asked. "Are you complaining?" Her eyes were black with desire as she ran her hands up and down his bare chest. "Is it this place?" She breathed. "Is it...is it making me want you?"

"It's not the place," he shook his head. "I told you: you want me, and that's not bad. Own that feeling!" He then reached down and undid the zipper and button on her pants, sneaking his fingers under the waist band so she could feel them against the warm skin of her pelvis.

"No," Ellie shook her head and backed away after moving his hand, her eyes widening. "Not now. I don't know if I can even do this. You rushed me and you ruined it!"

"Why are you making me wait?" He questioned, taking her by the shoulders and looking into her eyes. "I know how you feel: your lips may be saying 'No', but your eyes and your hands are saying yes! You can't lie to me, Eleanor!"

"I'm not lying!" Ellie shook her head. "I really can't do this. I'm sorry, but...if you can't be patient...if you can't respect what I want because you think your own needs are more important...then I don't think I can ever want you the way you want me."

"So it's all over then?" Lucifer sighed. "It's done? Fine, I guess if that's the way you want it. But can't I at least have one more kiss before you go?"

Ellie sighed. "Fine, but hands...they stay where I can see them, all right?"

"Fine," Lucifer shrugged and pulled her to himself as his lips crashed against hers as he pulled her tight against himself, his hands pushing up her shirt a little to roam down her back, and even over her bottom. And to his surprise, she didn't protest about it.

When they pulled apart, her face was red and she was breathing hard. "Well," he grinned and reached out to play with a strand of her hair briefly before letting it go. "I think it's time for us to say 'Goodnight', Eleanor. Don't you?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "I think...I think I better get out of here before I do something that I'll hate myself for in the morning."

"Goodnight!" He called after her as she ran out of the room and down the hallway, laughter in his voice. "Sleep well, Eleanor! Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

* * *

"What's going on?" Arthur asked Elijah as he ushered him into the house. "Does Lily not remember you? That's how it is with Mom and Dad too, which is why she kicked him out and made him go live with Katherine and Rodan."

"She kicked him out for that?" Elijah asked. "I never knew your mother to be so uncharitable."

"Well, he tried to sleep with her and wasn't exactly gentlemanly about it in the same way he usually was...so she told him she wanted to wait until he was good again and made him leave," Arthur shrugged. "Probably to avoid temptation. I'm proud of her." He paused. "How are you doing with all this? I know it was hard on you having her gone."

"It was," Elijah replied as they made their way up the stairs to Lily's room. "But having her here and not knowing me, it's like she's gone all over again."

"I could call Amy," Arthur offered. "I know she's not answering your calls."

"Would you?" Elijah asked him. "Thank you." Arthur scurried off and Elijah opened Lily's door.

"Is my mom here?" She asked. "Do I have a mom?"

"You do," Elijah nodded. "It's just that...you being gone was kind of stressful, so she's left for a bit. But she'll come back now that you're here, I promise."

And he was right: Amy zapped herself into Lily's room the second after she and Arthur hung up. "I know you don't remember me," she said, sitting down next to Lily on the bed. "I heard it from Arthur's mom. But...can I hug you anyway?"

"Sure," Lily nodded and gave her a hug. "It might help me remember." Then she looked at Elijah and at Arthur, who had just come back in the room. "Can I hug you guys too, to jog my memory? Would you mind?"

"No," Arthur and Elijah said at the same time and took Lily in their arms without hesitation.

"Anything at all?" Arthur asked once they separated. "Did that bring anything back to you?"

"Not yet," Lily shook her head. "Sorry." She paused, seeing how bummed out Arthur and Elijah looked. "But even though I might not remember specifics, I...I feel very comfortable around all of you. When you tell me that I mean something to you and you care about me, I believe it. Does that help?"

"Yes," Elijah told her. "It's a very good start."

They sat in silence and then Arthur said, "Would you want to come out for coffee with me? We could talk. It might be fun." He shrugged.

"All right," Lily nodded. "You could tell me more things I don't remember!" She turned to Elijah and Amy. "Is it okay? I promise I'll be back at a reasonable hour."

"Go, have fun," Amy smiled, speaking before Elijah could object, even though this time, surprisingly, he _had_ no objections cause he wanted to use the time they were gone to be with her.

"Thanks!" Lily smiled, taking Arthur's hand and letting him lead her out of the room. "Goodbye!"

When the door closed, Amy looked at Elijah. "I was expecting you to protest," she remarked. "But you didn't."

"Cause I trust Arthur," Elijah replied and kissed Amy's hand. "Besides, now I have more time to spend with you."

"We'll see about that," Amy replied. "If that's what you want, you have to come to Kol and Margot's with me."

"Are you saying we need a chaperon?" Elijah questioned.

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "At least for now. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," Elijah shook his head and stood up. "I just wanted to be sure of the rules. Let's go."


	17. Finding Your Place

"I need you to give me something to do," Ellie demanded of Lucifer. "I mean, the library's nice and I like that you actually want me to be comfortable here, but...if you say that I'm here to be more than just your play thing, and that somehow you're able to care for me in a more sincere way than that, I want proof."

"Well, what would you like to do?" Lucifer questioned. "I've been trying to think of a job for you, but I thought you wouldn't want to torture prisoners, so that's out."

"Does this always have to be a place of torture?" Ellie questioned, her arms crossed.

"Of course, Eleanor," he nodded. "It's hell! A place of suffering! What else are you expecting?"

"Well, I was thinking that just maybe I could help people work through things so they don't have to be eternally damned," Ellie suggested. "That would be a useful way to spend my time."

"That won't work," Lucifer shook his head. "Not here. That's what they do in purgatory and if the souls aren't there yet, they're never gonna be."

"I think you're wrong," Ellie told him. "I am going to prove it!" She stormed off and Dexter gave Lucifer a look, cause of course he'd seen the exchange. He was always nearby.

"Should I stop her?" He asked.

Lucifer sighed. "Honestly, I really don't think you'll be able to," he admitted. "But at least try and talk to her; see what she's up to. It would be nice to know what we're dealing with here."

"All right," Dexter nodded. "I will."

* * *

It took him a little longer than usual to find her because she wasn't in her room, nor had she taken refuge in the library, which were the two places he usually knew to look for her. Then he decided that maybe she was serious about this whole reformation thing and went into the punishment areas to see which one she would implement her plan in first.

He finally found her on the gluttony level, with the gluttons away from the table and doing jumping jacks the best they could as the punishing demons looked on in confusion and a bit of fright.

"We're not gonna get in trouble for this, are we?" One of them asked when Dexter came in. "She just showed up, said she was the queen, and that we better let them all up out of their chairs or she would do something about it."

"Well, she's not wrong." Dexter said. "She _is_ the queen. You can ask the boss if you doubt her. But I'm sure you won't get in trouble if she instigated all this and he knows you have nothing to do with it." He paused. "And it might not even work, who knows?"

"How long should we let it go on before we stop it?" The demon continued.

"It's not really your place to try and stop her from doing anything," Dexter informed him. "Just be patient and it will all be over with soon, I'm sure." Then he left and Lucifer met with him.

"Did she do it just like she promised?" Lucifer questioned. "Her ridiculous plan to reform the damned?"

"Well, now she and the gluttons are doing aerobics," Dexter replied. "I don't actually know if it'll work, but the demons that work Gluttony are terrified it might and they'll get blamed. What should I tell them?"

"You don't have to tell them anything," Lucifer replied. "Leave me to deal with it. That might be best."

"All right," Dexter nodded. "Good luck. I think you'll need it."

Lucifer chuckled. "No, I won't, Dexter," he shook his head. "I can handle Eleanor. Believe me."

"All right, everyone, exercise time is over," Lucifer proclaimed as he swept into the Gluttony room. "Back to the table and your punishment!"

"Now just a second!" Ellie paused touching her toes to stomp over to him. "We're not done yet! You can't just come in here and interrupt us!"

"Yes, I can!" Lucifer roared, getting Ellie's face and showing his true appearance, which made the gluttons scream and run back to their chairs, even though. to Lucifer's surprise, it did nothing to Ellie.

"Well, there you go," she sighed. "You got what you wanted. They're terrified and doing exactly what you want. I hope you're happy!"

"Yes, I am," Lucifer nodded. "Everything is as it should be. Order has been restored." He gave her a smug smile. "Let this be a lesson to you, Eleanor: don't test me."

Ellie crossed her arms and scoffed. "You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know? I was just trying to help. Go find a fiery lake and jump into it. If I didn't see you again, I wouldn't care." She strode out of the room then and Lucifer just shook his head. If she was hoping to shame him out of doing his job, then she was severely underestimating how hard she would have to work for that to actually be effective.

"You want me to talk to her?" Dexter offered.

"No, let her sulk," Lucifer told him. "I don't mind. After this, it'll be good for her."

* * *

Gregory looked down at the ring box in his hand, sighed, and put it back in the dresser. He'd meant it when he'd written to AnnaLynne about them getting married and he'd had the proposal all planned out to do as soon as she returned so he didn't lose his nerve.

When he saw her coming up the walk, he waited until she reached him and then got down on his knees and held out and open ring box for her to see.

"Will you marry me?" He asked, so eager, scared, and full of adrenaline that he didn't even notice the very confused look on her face. He waited for her answer and when she said nothing, he finally looked up.

"Well, what do you have to say?" He questioned, getting to his feet. "I know I should have done something more romantic, but I wanted to get it all out before I lost my nerve."

"Why would I marry you if I don't know who you are?" She asked and punched him in the gut. "Don't you know it's not nice to just propose to strangers? You should be ashamed!" Then she strode off toward the house and he hadn't seen her since.

Finally, he heard a knock at his bedroom door. "Come in," he called. "Then, just in case it was who he hoped it was, he added, "but please don't hurt me again."

The door opened, but AnnaLynne stayed in the doorway. "I'm sorry I hurt you," she apologized. "You just surprised me, that's all. What's your name? I'm AnnaLynne."

"Gregory," he replied and shook her hand, being careful not to hold on for too long in case she took it the wrong way again. "I'm glad you were able to find it in yourself to forgive me. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm sure you didn't," AnnaLynne remarked. "If I thought otherwise, I wouldn't have forgiven you at all." She then came into the room and sat on his bed. "But what would make you want to give me a ring anyway? You'll have to tell me, cause if it's due to the fact that we have some history together, I don't remember any of it."

"Well, that much is obvious," Gregory said. "I don't know where you would have put it, but when you were in hell with the other demons, I sent you a note telling you that I missed you and that I intended to marry you when you got back, before something else bad happened to us."

"So we _are_ in a relationship!" AnnaLynne got out. "Interesting." She looked him up and down. "I sure know how to pick 'em!"

Gregory smiled. "Thanks. It's a nice change from when you considered me snobby and annoying. But I can't fault you: when we first met, I didn't think much of you, either."

"How do we know each other?" AnnaLynne questioned. "How did we meet?"

"Well, technically, we're step-siblings," Gregory explained. "My mother is married to your father. But we first met face to face when he sent you to do some demon hunting in the Amazon while I was there looking for girls who'd gotten kidnapped from a hospital. And we met, and things just went from there." He paused. "If you don't believe me, that's okay," he said. "But it's the truth."

"You say your mother is married to my father?" AnnaLynne questioned. "Where's a phone? I want to ask him about all this."

"All right, fine," Gregory nodded. "You go do that."

But it ended up doing her no good because Dorian was just as clueless about her relationship with Gregory as she was.

"Okay, he couldn't tell me anything," she said when she came back with phone in hand.

"So what do you want to do now?" Gregory asked. "Trust that we had something and start over, or...?"

"Yeah, all right," AnnaLynne nodded. "We can do that. But don't lose the ring, all right? It was pretty."

"Don't worry," Gregory assured her after taking a relieved breath. "I won't."

* * *

There was a knock at the door while Gwen was out and Mikael, just because he felt like telling the person on the other side to go away, went to answer it, and before he could even see who it was, he was punched in the face and sent flying backwards, landing on his back.

"What did you do that for?" He asked as he scrambled to his feet and groaned when he saw his attacker was Jeffrey.

"I don't know who you are," Jeffrey replied. "But I don't like your face. You seemed like someone I should hit. What are you doing in my house?"

"How do you know this is your house?" Mikael asked. "It could be this random place that you stumbled into. I'd be happy to show you the way out."

"Jeffrey!" Called Gwen's voice. "You're back! How wonderful!"

Jeffrey turned his head to look at her and then faced Mikael again. "Well, it seems like a beautiful woman is calling me," he said. "Excuse me."

Mikael then was forced to watch as Jeffrey approached Gwen, pulled her close, and whispered in her ear, his lips against her earlobe, or so it seemed from where he was standing. But of course, he didn't let that go on forever.

"All right, all right, enough!" He cried and tried to push them apart. "Stop doing that! The neighbors will see!"

"I don't believe you give a damn about the neighbors," Gwen remarked. "You just want us to stop."

"However, if you're really bothered, I see no reason why we can't continue things inside," Jeffrey grinned. "Gwen, would that bother you?"

"No," Gwen smiled back. "It wouldn't in the least. Let's go!"

So they went inside and began unashamedly making out on the sofa.

"You're lucky I haven't eaten yet, or else I would be sick," Mikael said. But of course, they ignored him.

Realizing he wasn't going to get the reaction he wanted, and feeling very put off by it, Mikael decided to leave temporarily and go in search of someone who _would_ pay attention to him, which, to his relief, took less time than he thought it would.

* * *

"Well, look who it is!" His daughter-in-law Vivi remarked when she opened the door to his knock and ushered him inside. "You know, we were just about to call you. What a coincidence that you came to visit us instead!"

"Why?" Mikael asked suspiciously. "Why are you happy to see me? Why do you want me around?"

"Let me go get King," Vivi told him. "He's around, it'll just take a minute." She ran off before Mikael could say another word, her red hair bouncing on her shoulders. He'd always liked her, despite the fact that Niklaus was her father. It was lucky for her that she had more of her mother in her. Amy was...not troublesome, at the very least. And smart. And sane. All very good things.

It wasn't long before she came back, followed by the only reason Gwen was tolerating him now: their son, King.

"Did you come to tell us what you want in a woman so we can find you a date?" He asked. "Mom said you wanted one."

"She said that?" Mikael raised an eyebrow. "I never did. _She_ wants me to have a date because for some reason, she feels like I'm getting in the way of her and her new boyfriend."

King and Vivi looked at one another.

"And could she think that because you're _actually_ getting in the way of her and her new boyfriend?" King hedged. "And it's not just some figment of her imagination?"

"Well, he's a demon, for fuck's sake!" Mikael cried. "I think I have the right to interfere!"

"No you don't," King shook his head as Vivi fixed his blond hair. "And you should be grateful she hasn't killed you for being bossy."

"She can't kill me," Mikael replied smugly. "If she tried, I would just come back." He stood up. "I need to use the bathroom. Where is it?" King told him and when he was out of the room, Vivi leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed.

"I don't know what your mother is thinking," she said. "Does she honestly believe we'll find a long term woman for him? It's impossible! It's not gonna happen! He's just too damn difficult!"

"I know, I know," King replied and kissed Vivi's hair. "But we should at least try. It's the only way I'll be able to look my mother in the eye."

"You have a point," Vivi sighed and kissed him back. "Even if we don't get anywhere, we should at least be able to say we tried."

* * *

"Good morning, all!" Lucifer cheerfully greeted Dexter and Ellie, who were sitting at the breakfast table. Dexter got up when he entered, but Ellie didn't budge cause she was too busy eating.

"Now I know why you're so interested in the gluttons," Lucifer remarked as he sat down. "Your aunt is a compulsive eater as well. And drinker. That's a fun coincidence." he chuckled and wiped his brow. "Does it seem warm to anyone else?"

"No," Dexter shook his head as he noticed sweat pouring down his boss's startlingly pale face. "Are you all right? You don't seem all right. Maybe you should go back to bed."

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "I'm just...just a little warm is all. I have so much to do, and as you pointed out, the devil shouldn't take sick days. If I do, Ellie will clean me out by reforming everyone before I can even blink!"

"Well, you can't blame me for wanting to give all those poor people hope!" Ellie snapped, finally swallowing the bite of her giant cinnamon roll and slamming her fork down on the table. "I don't know why you act like that's such a bad thing!"

"And I don't get why you don't seem to understand my lot in life!" Lucifer cried. He and Ellie were leaning across the table, nearly nose-to-nose, and the heat was just _radiating_ from his body in a way that was not normal. "I punish bad people! I can't just let them off willy-nilly because you want to feel sorry for them. It's not how it works! Now keep stuffing your face with food and leave me alone."

"That was a cheap shot!" Ellie replied and finally pushed the plate away. "And I really think you're sick, so get your ass to bed and we'll deal with it!"

"No!" Lucifer shook his head. "I am not going to spend a bunch of needless time buried under my covers. I have better things to do!"

But she wouldn't let him off that easily. She walked toward him, a determined look on her face as he began walking backward to try and avoid her until finally, she pinned him against a wall and he fell to the floor in a faint.

"Dexter!" Ellie called. "He's down!"

"Do you need help getting him to bed?" Dexter questioned. "Do you think he'll be able to get up?"

"No, but that's okay," Ellie assured him and used her powers to zap his boss to his bed. "I wondered if I could use my powers around here." Then she paused. "Would you mind if I took care of him? Or is that stepping on your toes somehow?"

"No, go ahead," Dexter agreed. "But keep me updated."

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "Of course."

She then hurried to Lucifer's room, where he had regained consciousness and was trying to get out of bed again.

"No, you get back there!" Ellie ordered and pushed him back down on the mattress, beginning to remove his clothes so he wouldn't be more overheated then he already was.

"Oh, this is a nice surprise," he remarked. "I don't know what's in your head, Eleanor, but I'll play along with it."

When he was in just his boxers, she pulled his covers over him and wiped his brow before putting a cold cloth on his forehead.

"We gotta get that fever down," she told him firmly. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but I don't like it and I want it to be over."

"I'm touched," he said and reached out to touch her breast until she slapped his hand away.

"Don't," she snapped. "Just rest and I will go and get you fluids so you don't become dehydrated."

"I want beer," Lucifer requested. "Can I have that?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "You'll have water or sports drinks and like it!"

She zapped up water and helped him hold onto it as it trickled into his mouth.

"Oh, this is disgusting," he winced.

"But it's good for you," Ellie pointed out.

"You don't know that," Lucifer shook his head. "I don't have the same needs as humans. This could kill me."

"Well, do you feel like you're dying?" Ellie questioned.

"No, but...no," Lucifer shook his head.

Ellie then called Dexter in to make sure that Lucifer drank his water while she got him another cold cloth.

"You know, she's being very nice to help you after the way you've treated her lately," Dexter remarked.

"Yeah, she's nice," Lucifer got out. "I don't feel so good, Dexter. Do you think I'm dying again? Why is this happening to me?"

"I don't know," Dexter answered. "But Miss Ellie and I will find out, I promise. Now drink your water, just like she said."

"Oh, all right," Lucifer huffed, just as Ellie came back in the room and put another cloth on his head. "Give me another glass, would you?"


	18. All For You

"Okay, Hannah bear," Sarah said as she cuddled her daughter. "Let's go see your daddy and try to make him not be sad anymore, all right?"

The baby, of course, couldn't respond, but Sarah carried her into her and Josh's bedroom, where Josh lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He wore nothing but a par of jean shorts and he wasn't blinking.

"Honey?" Sarah asked him. "Why don't you get up and shower now? Or...would you like to say 'Hi' to Hannah?"

"Why bother?" Josh questioned. "If I get attached to her, she's just gonna leave me like Ellie did."

"I know it's sad, but just staying there will not help solve anything," Sarah reminded him. "Ellie went with Lucifer so you could have a life to live, not just so you could be in bed and be miserable."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Josh sighed and sniffled, sitting up and wiping a few tears out of his eyes. "I know she did it for a good reason, so is it terrible that I'm so upset?"

"Not as terrible as the fact that I'm not upset," Sarah replied. "I mean, I miss her every day, but...I'm not sad."

"Lucky you," Josh replied and took Hannah, looking down at the baby and trying to feel something _, anything_ for her. "I wish I could be like that. Instead, all I can think of is how much she's probably being tortured or hurt and how I'm never gonna see her again when I didn't even get a proper farewell. I mean, I shouldn't be surprised. One of the things Lucifer always taunted me with was the fact that he wanted Ellie and that he was gonna make her bigger and be with her some day. But now that it's happened, I just...it breaks my heart."

"Why don't you take a bath or a shower, clean yourself up, and then we can go out and eat?" Sarah suggested. "Or I can have a pizza delivered. We have to do something to get your mind off Ellie."

"My mind will _never_ be off of Ellie!" Josh said, even as he took Hannah and rocked her gently in his arms. "She's a smart girl. I hope she escapes somehow and comes to visit so we can have a proper goodbye."

"Not that I don't think Ellie wouldn't try that because I know she would," Sarah assured him. "But do you think she'd actually be able to do it? Get out, I mean?"

"Yes," Josh said confidently. "She will. And any day now, we're going to see her."

Sarah wasn't so sure, but because just the thought of Ellie returning was making him happier than he'd been in days, she didn't want to wreck it for him. "Of course we will," she said.

Then Josh kissed Hannah and gave Sarah a smile. "I'm gonna go shower now," he told her. "Then we can go eat. Did you say you wanted to that?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded, trying to think how long it had been since Josh had eaten anything of substance. "Yeah, I do."

* * *

Lucifer, of course, was well aware of how much Josh missed his daughter. Now, the nice thing to do would have been to tell Ellie and let her go up to visit. But with his redemption on the line, Lucifer couldn't risk letting her go and then her not returning. He had to make sure that she stayed right where she was.

"I have a question," Ellie asked him one day. "I feel really stupid asking you this, but...do you think my parents miss me? Is it at all possible for me to go visit them? I'll only need a day...or even just a couple of hours. Could you give me that? Please?"

Lucifer took Ellie's hand and led her to the television, giving her a pitying look. "I didn't want to have to tell you this, but...I've been keeping an eye on your parents because I knew you'd ask this exact question. I've been keeping an eye on them and the fact is, they're okay without you."

"Excuse me?" Ellie asked. "Are you sure they don't miss me at all?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Lucifer nodded and turned on the TV, showing her an image of Josh and Sarah happily playing with the new child as he took Ellie's hand. "Her name is Hannah," he said with a sigh. "I guess they think she's the perfect replacement. But at least your parents respect your decision to come here. That's something right?"

Ellie pulled her hand out of his, her lip trembling as she burst into tears and ran for her room.

Lucifer waited a bit and then came into her room without so much as a knock before entering, finding her sobbing and shaking under her covers. "Come now, darling," he told her. "It's not so bad!" He pulled her covers off and turned her around so that she was looking at him. "They're happy, right? You want them to be happy, even though you can't be with them anymore."

"Yes, of course," Ellie nodded. "I guess...but you would think that they would have the decency to be sad, even. I didn't see pictures of me or anything like that! It's like I've completely disappeared! Like I never existed!"

"Well, everyone has their own ways of dealing with loss," Lucifer shrugged. "And maybe their way of dealing with you never coming back is to make it so they don't have to see anything that reminds them of you so they can just focus on your sister. It's painful, I know. But can you blame them?"

"No," Ellie sniffled and actually reached out to put her arms around him. "I can't blame them cause going away was my choice, but that doesn't mean it can't hurt when it seems like my loss doesn't even matter to them, right?"

"Oh, right," Lucifer cooed, running his fingers through her hair and hugging her close. "But you know you still have me and Dexter, right? You'll always mean something to _us."_

Ellie nodded. "Thank you," she said and wiped her eyes. "Since you're the closest thing I have to a family now, that means a lot."

"It should," Lucifer nodded. "And I'm not lying. I meant every word."

And he did, at least when it came to how much he meant to her.

* * *

"I know you've probably heard all about my parents," Ellie told Dexter. "And I'm probably just a glutton for punishment, but I want to see them on the TV again. Lucifer showed them to me the other day and they seemed really happy that I was gone. It was like I'd never even existed. I need to see it again, just so I don't forget their faces."

"You saw them be that happy over your loss?" Dexter frowned. "Are you sure? That doesn't seem right to me. Cause from what I remember, when Josh was here, he just about had a coronary when the boss mentioned bringing you here. I don't see how he can go from that attitude to just not caring in a short amount of time. What do you say we take another look?"

"Yeah, okay," Ellie nodded. "I really hope it was all just a mistake and they still care about me."

"Oh, I'm sure it is," Dexter promised. "It has to be." He turned on the TV to the right channel, and, just as had been the case when she'd watched it with Lucifer, her parents were playing with a baby wrapped in a pink blanket and they were both smiling. But what was different this time was that when Ellie saw the living room, she was pleased to note that pictures of her were still displayed prominently. And then she heard what her dad was telling the little baby, who was apparently her sister:

"I'm sorry I haven't been paying much attention to you," he apologized and kissed her hair. "But you have an older sister named Ellie and I love her very much, but she had to go away in order for me to be with you. And before she left, I didn't have a chance to say 'Goodbye' and neither did your mommy, so we're sad about that sometimes. But it doesn't mean that we don't love you. I wish you could meet Ellie. You'd like her. She's nice. No, I mean, you _will_ meet her someday, even though she went to be with the devil himself, because I will pull her out of hell for a visit, even if it's just for a few hours. I promise you that."

"And I'll help," Sarah added. "I don't want you going alone."

"Oh, my god," Ellie gasped. "They want me around! They miss me! They're plotting how to come here and get me..." She gasped and then her eyes narrowed. "That means he lied to me when he said they didn't care. Lucifer lied! Not that I expected anything else out of him. I don't even know why I'm shocked. I wonder what _else_ he's lied to me about?"

"You could go ask him," Dexter suggested. "He's watching the wrathful duke it out again."

"Thank you," Ellie turned on her heel, her back straight as she stopped off. "I think I will."

* * *

"You _bastard_!" Ellie stormed into the latest gladiatorial games for the wrathful and gave Lucifer a good, hard slap, causing everyone around them to cheer. "You son of a bitch! You monster, you asshole, you..." She couldn't think of any worse words. Then she used her magic to send Lucifer flying into the area.

"Go ahead, boys!" She said to the fighters. "Give him a good beating for me!"

"Why don't you do it, Miss?" Asked one of the angry.

"Don't you want to know what he's done to deserve it?" Ellie asked.

"No, we just want to see bloodshed!" The man grinned. So Ellie ran into the arena and as she prepared to beat Lucifer again, he grinned up at her. "This'll be fun!" He grinned. "Go ahead and do it!"

"You _lied_ to me!" Ellie grabbed Lucifer by the throat and shook him. "You lied about my parents! They miss me! You lied! You lied! I wish you'd boiled to death! I wish that fever had killed you! I save you and this is how you repay me?" She then began kicking him and hitting him, and just screaming before collapsing beside him and sobbing,

"I wanna go home," she got out, her hands over her face. "I wanna go home..."

As the crowd was still shouting for bloodshed, Lucifer didn't have long to think of what to do next if he didn't want to lose his reputation with them. So he picked Ellie up and said, "Sorry to slow the action down folks, but we have to be going now. Andrews, Aberly, you're up next! And somebody film them ripping each other to pieces. I don't want to miss it!"

With the sound of screaming and yelling ringing in his ears once more, he left the stadium and zapped himself and Ellie to his room, where he put her on the bed and demanded, "Well, what do you have to say for yourself? What was that display out there, Eleanor? I'm lucky I got us out when I did! Terrible things could have happened otherwise! My whole reputation could have been ruined!"

"And of course it all has to be about you!" Ellie snapped. "Aren't you even the least bit curious about why I'm mad at you? Don't you want me to try and feel better?"

"I know why you're mad at me," Lucifer told her, arms crossed and dark eyes burning. "You made that clear. You seem to feel that I lied to you about your parents."

"You _did_!" Ellie nodded insistently. "I watched them again with Dexter and this time, I saw pictures of me all over the place, and although Mom and Dad were still happy with my sister, Dad was telling her stuff about how much they missed me and how they were gonna storm down here and get me so we could all have a proper goodbye. Can you explain that?"

"Come now, Eleanor," Lucifer said. "Who are you going to believe? Dexter probably felt pity for you and put some magic on the TV to twist the truth so you wouldn't be sad. You shouldn't believe it."

"You know what I shouldn't believe?" Ellie snapped. "Anything _you_ say! I bet _you_ manipulated what I saw when you said they didn't miss me! That would make _much_ more sense! I know my parents and them missing me and loving me is not a lie! Forgetting me is! Why would you do this to me? I think I have a right to know!" She began tapping her foot. "Come on and tell me. I'm waiting. And no lying this time! I want the truth, and I _deserve_ the truth!" She grabbed his face and made it so he was staring right at her. "And _look_ at me when you're talking to me. unless you're afraid to!"

"You don't have to hold onto me, Eleanor," he said in a cold voice, moving her hands. "I'll tell you the truth. I'll tell you why I can't let you leave, and why, if your parents insist on coming to get you out, they will be my _permanent_ special guests."

"Why?" Ellie asked.

"Cause I _need_ you," he said simply. "You are a wonderful, pure, good person, and I need you. You'll be able to bring the good out in me that no one else can. Without you, I'll be stuck like this forever, and I don't want that!"

"Well, if I'm supposed to bring out the good in you, I think I'd fire myself now because I've been doing a pretty crappy job," Ellie returned dryly. "People who are good don't lie and hurt other people, especially if they want them to love them. And are you even gonna apologize for lying since you know it hurt me?" She paused as he opened his mouth. "Don't say it if you don't mean it, though. I don't want an apology if you're just saying it cause you know it's what I want to hear."

She turned her back and waited for him to talk, but he was silent so long that she nodded and swallowed. "Yep," she got out. "I knew it. You don't care about me at all. Just what I can do for you. I'm just a means to an end. It makes me unhappy, but...it's nice to know where I stand."

"Just...just a minute now, Eleanor," he got out, and to her surprise, unless her ears were deceiving her, she heard his voice shaking. "You didn't give me a chance to answer, did you? I don't think that's very nice, and you're going to stay right here until I've said all I have to say." He turned her around and again, she was surprised. Were there... _tears_ in his eyes?

"Are you crying?" She asked.

"I'm...I'm trying not to," he shook his head. "Just don't tell anyone."

"Oh, I won't," Ellie promised. "I wouldn't go out of my way to hurt you, even if it would give me a temporary sense of satisfaction." She paused. "Are you sorry for what you did to me?"

"It was necessary to do to keep you here," Lucifer said. "But...I'm sorry it hurt you. I really am. And if I knew that you'd come back, I would be more than happy to let you out to visit your parents, but right now, I'm just not sure I trust you enough to take that chance."

"What makes you unable to trust me?" Ellie asked. "I came with you when you brought the demons back! I could have been sneaky then and not come, but I did! If either of us should be worried about not being able to trust the other, I should be worried about not trusting _you_ , and I am!"

"Let me have a chance to gain your trust," Lucifer requested. "Please?"

"How would you do that?" Ellie questioned.

"That's part of where the trust part comes in," Lucifer grinned. "I can't tell you. But it'll be fun, I promise."

"Will it hurt?" Ellie asked. "Cause I don't want to be hurt."

"So if it doesn't hurt, you'll let me do it?" Lucifer questioned.

"Yes," Ellie sighed. "Cause I know you'll nag me until i change my mind if I say 'No'."

"Good girl," he said with a grin and ruffled her hair. "You're learning! All I will say is that I want to explore your lustful urges."

"Here we go again," Ellie sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" She then let him pick her up and put her on the bed. Then he gave her a wink and turned off the light, ordering her to lie down.

"Why are we in the dark?" Ellie asked. "This is making me nervous!"

"Remember that this is about trust, Eleanor," Lucifer reminded her. "And you made a promise to trust me and not ask questions."

"Oh, all right," Ellie told him. "But if we're having sex you better tell me first. That shouldn't be a surprise."

"Of course I will," Lucifer replied as he began undressing her. "That wasn't what I had planned for this time. Although I am more than happy to change plans if losing your virginity was something you were looking forward to."

"No, no," Ellie shook her head. "I can wait."

"All right...do you trust me?" He whispered. "I just want to hear a 'Yes' from your lips before I go any further."

"That's very generous for the devil," Ellie remarked. "Yes, I suppose I do trust you."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "Good." When she was naked, the first thing he did was kiss her lips softy, then her forehead and her hair. Then he took her hand and gently stroked her palm with his thumb, and she gasped as shivers went through her body. Then he ran his hands slowly over her arms and belly and swirled his tongue in her navel, which made her jump a little as she tried to steady her breathing.

When he parted her legs, she let out a little shriek, but to her surprise, he just kissed up her inner thighs and didn't do more than that, his lips feeling warm against her skin.

"Are you going to touch me?" She whispered.

"Not yet," he replied, playing with her hair. "I want to look into your eyes when I do that. Not here like this in the dark."

"Well, that...that was an experience," she said. "You...you made me have tingles everywhere." She let out a breath. "And I'm so _hot_! No wonder the lustful burst into flame!" She gasped. "Turn the lights on! Turn the lights on now!"

Lucifer ran over to the light switch and got it on while Ellie covered herself up with a sheet and shut her eyes.

"My god, what are you doing, Eleanor?" He asked.

"I'm waiting to burst into flame," she explained.

"It's not gonna happen, but your face is somewhat red if that helps," he told her. Then his eyes flicked downward. "And may I say you've got a lovely set of breasts on you? I didn't do so bad when I made you grow up, did I?"

"No," Ellie shook her head, moving the sheet and looking down at herself. "I suppose not, but since I have no idea about any of that, I'm a terrible judge."

They sat in silence a bit before Ellie asked, "So what happens now? Since I trusted you, will you at least _consider_ letting me go and visit my parents?"

"I'll...I'll think about it," Lucifer told her. "Don't start making plans yet, though."

"Don't worry," Ellie assured him. "I won't count on it. But if frost starts forming on the windows, I'll know it's a go."


	19. A Little Too Good

**Trigger warning for rape in this chapter (even though there's a sort of consent, it's still a rape scene, so everyone careful if that's a concern for you.)**

"What's wrong with you now?" Dexter asked Lucifer as he brought his boss his dinner. "Don't you want to eat out in the dining room with Miss Ellie?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "There's no way I want to go near that woman anymore. She has too much power over me now!"

"What do you mean by that?" Dexter questioned, setting down the try of lobster and steak and taking off his glasses to clean them with his t-shirt. "What has she done wrong?"

Lucifer let out a growl and pushed the tray off the little table beside his bed. "Look at me, Dexter!" He cried. " _Look at me_!"

So the demon immediately set eyes on his boss, who had both hands wrapped around a bottle of bourbon (with some slopped down the front of his shirt). And since there were several other empty bottle strewn about the room, he was clearly drunk.

"She's _ruining_ me, Dexter!" He cried and grabbed the demon by the shirt. "I've become so desperate for her approval and so afraid that she'll leave that I'm chasing after her like a starry-eyed teenager! And that's not me, is it? Is it, Dexter? I have every right to hate what _that girl_ has turned me into! I'm the Prince of Darkness! I should be controlling _her!_ That's it! That's the only way that everyone will stop laughing at me and I'll be feared and worshiped once more! I was visiting the gluttons earlier and they just kept doing jumping jacks and wouldn't even sit down at the sight of me. And the wrathful...I was sport for _them!_ They threw _food_ at me _!_ Do you know how long it takes to get the smell of rotten tomato out of leather? Do you?"

Dexter was frightened now. He was used to his boss' moods, as were the other demons, but things had never been this bad before. He struggled in Lucifer's grip, his feet dangling over the floor as he tried to get himself free. "I-I don't see why this is such a bad thing," he got out. "For the first time in centuries, you showed kindness! You showed that you could be good, and that's what Miss Ellie has wanted all along! It's good that you're making her happy because that means she'll want to stay, and then we can all be happy!"

"Oh, you foolish, ugly man!" Lucifer scowled and threw him hard against the wall so that he landed on the floor in a crumpled heap. "This is what people don't seem to understand: I am not kind, I am not good... _I am the devil_!"

As he said this, thunder boomed and lightning flashed with such intensity that the power went out in the mansion and Dexter was able to pull himself away without interruption and go see Ellie.

* * *

"Oh, my god!" Ellie cried as she opened her bedroom door and Dexter fell inside. He was bruised and bleeding and she was surprised he could move. "Dexter come here. What happened to you?" She got him tucked into her bed and helped him drink a glass of water, but when he spoke, his voice was weak.

"The boss...he's angry...get out while you can..."

"So Lucifer did this to you?" Ellie snapped. "Well, he's not gonna get away with it! I'm gonna have a few words with him! He can't treat people this way!"

Dexter opened his mouth to try and stop her, but he knew she wouldn't hear him and that she probably wasn't listening anyway, so he just lay back down and hoped that nothing bad would happen to her, or that if something did, he would be well enough to help her after.

* * *

"You want to tell me why you hurt poor Dexter?" Ellie demanded, bursting into the library while Lucifer was reading. "What did he do to deserve that?"

"He stuck up for you!" Lucifer replied, a mad grin on his face. He reeked of alcohol in such a way that Ellie winced and backed away from him. "He told me he thought it was _good_ that you've ruined my reputation and made me a laughing stock in my own home. Don't you realize that's what you've done, Eleanor? Well, no more! I brought you down here for a reason, and now that I no longer care what you think of me, I'm gonna show you what that reason is! I'm going to take what I'm due for the favor I did you!"

He then grabbed her and carried her to the bed, ripping off her clothes and tying her down as her eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed rapidly. As he unzipped his pants, she finally found the words.

"Are you really gonna do this to me?" She asked. "After all this effort you've put forth to try and show me how nice you are, you're gonna take things past the point of no return?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "You should know by now that I'm a proud man and I won't be made a fool of anymore. We're going to fuck and there's nothing you can do about it." He started kissing her neck, his moist lips feeling gross against her skin. Her stomach turned and she tried to kick him, but instead, he just laughed and pushed her back on the bed, climbing on top of her and leaning down to kiss her again, until she found the strength to pause and put a hand on his face.

"I know you have to do this for whatever reason," she got out, proud that her voice didn't shake as she looked up at him. "And I know that what I'm about to say probably won't even matter, but I have to do it anyway: If you do what you're going to do, I'm leaving after. I'm not gonna stay here another minute. But if you...if you don't, then I _will_ stay." She moved her hand and looked at him appealingly. "Think about it."

"All right," Lucifer replied after a few seconds, pushing in and out of her as she let out a cry and then bit him. "There. You see how much I've thought about it?"

His dark eyes took up her whole world until she couldn't look into them anymore and shut her own tight just hoping it would all soon be over. Then, finally it was. He pulled out of her and got up as she lay still on the bed.

He went to open the door to leave and then Ellie heard a _thunk!_ and the sound of a body hitting the floor. When she got the strength to sit up, she saw that Lucifer was out cold in her doorway and Dexter was standing over him with a baseball bat held aloft. There was even a little blood on the wood if she wasn't mistaken.

"Get dressed," Dexter ordered her, his voice urgent and his eyes politely averted. "If you want to go, we have to go _now_. I don't know how long it will be until he wakes up again."

"All right," Ellie nodded, trying to slow her breathing as she reached for her clothes.

"Here," Dexter stepped over Lucifer's body and approached her. "Do you need some help?"

"Yes," Ellie got out. "Please."

Between the two of them, they quickly got Ellie dressed and then Dexter grabbed her hand as they ran through the mansion, pausing only to get Fishy and his bowl, and out the front door. No one tried to stop them.

"Why didn't anyone try and stop us?" Ellie questioned.

"Well, I really don't know," Dexter shrugged. "The boss was going on and on about how the damned no longer respect him. Maybe more of us down here are happier to see you go than you'd think."

"Oh, I'm not surprised," Ellie sighed. "I thought I'd be able to manage down here, but..." she shuddered. "I guess not."

"I'll miss you, though," Dexter promised. "I genuinely believed from the second I saw you that you would be able to do good for him. But I guess he didn't want to change yet and you can't change people who don't want to be changed."

"No," Ellie shook her head. "You can't. Where to next? What's the way out of here?"

"Let me show you," Dexter told her. "It's not a long way. I promise."

* * *

Ellie slammed the door to her parents' house closed, breathing hard and hoping that no one was following her. It had been a miracle that she had been able to get away at all. She and Dexter had been very lucky, and she'd been very sad to say goodbye when he'd dropped her off at the driveway and told her that she should be fine now, but to get away home free, that really _was_ too good to be true.

After she caught her breath and it was clear that no one else was trying to get in the house, she walked further inside and looked around. "Mom?" She called. "Dad? I'm back from hell! I got out! Where are you?"

She looked around the house and found no one, her heart immediately sinking. Although all the furniture was still in place, she had the irrational thought that they'd moved and were never coming back. She cried on the sofa for a bit, then got up for a drink, walking around the kitchen with her orange juice glass in hand.

Then, a note by the phone made her heart swell, and she teared up as she read it.

 _Ellie Bean,_

 _If you come back while we're gone, your mother and I have just taken Hannah to see your grandparents (Grandpa Matthew and Grandma Christine), but we'll be back soon. You can join us or you can wait for us, but whatever you choose, I commend you for getting out of hell and I am so glad you're back._

 _Lots of love,_

 _Daddy_

Ellie read the note over several times, folded it up, and stuck it in her pocket. It would be just like him to believe that she would be back. And a relief too, since the alternative of her parents storming hell to rescue her would have been a lot more trouble for everyone. With the note close to her heart, she smiled to herself and, with a snap of her fingers, headed to Matthew and Christine's house.

* * *

Christine had just gotten up to get more cookies when there was a frantic knock on the front door.

"I'll get it!" Josh cried, not letting anyone else have a chance. He opened the door and Ellie burst into tears as she fell into his arms and it didn't take long for him to follow suit.

"Thank you for believing I'd come back, Daddy," Ellie sobbed. "I know I'm not as tiny or cute as I used to be, and you're probably really mad at me for going in the first place, so...it's nice to know that you want me back."

Josh brought her in the house a little more, then took her face in his hands. "I am not disappointed in you for going to hell. Not when it saved everyone and brought them back. How could I be? The only thing that worried me about it was that I would never see you again, but here you are. I'm so happy!" He hugged her.

"And as for the rest of it, yes, you may not be tiny, but you're still adorable. And frankly, I'm _relieved_ you're grown up. It takes a little pressure off, knowing I just have to help your mother raise _one_ small child, and not two. You wanna come meet Hannah?"

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "I would love to!"

"Look who's back!" Josh cried happily as he brought Ellie into the kitchen. "Look who-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as Matthew raced over to them and soon, Ellie was squished between father and grandfather in a bone-crushing hug.

"All right, you guys," Christine remarked when she saw that Ellie was flailing desperately. "Time to step away and let poor Ellie breathe."

When she was free, Christine came and hugged her too. "Are you all right?" She asked. "How did you get out?"

"I made friends with one of the demons and he knocked Lucifer unconscious and helped me escape," Ellie explained about Dexter. "And really, no one tried to stop us. I think they were all glad to see me go." She paused. "But it's not something I want to think about just now." She reached out and took Hannah's little hand. "Now who's this?"

"This is your sister, Hannah," Sarah introduced her. "It's been an adjustment for us to have her, especially since you were gone and that was a bit stressful, but now that you're back, it'll be better."

"I didn't mean to worry you," Ellie said. "I'm sorry."

"You did what you thought was best, and it got me your father back, so I understand why you did what you did," Sarah assured her. "And I thank you, too."

"You're welcome," Ellie smiled and reached out for her sister after sitting down in a chair at the kitchen table. "Can I hold her? Or does she not like people?"

"No, you can," Sarah nodded and handed her over as Ellie stared down into the little baby's puffy red face.

"Hi, Hannah," she said and kissed her dark head. "I'm Ellie. You have the best mommy and daddy in the whole world. I hope you know that."

"And the best big sister," Sarah added as Josh came up behind Ellie's chair, put his hands on her shoulders, and kissed her hair. "You're just a very lucky girl, little one."


	20. Truth Or Daring

"I have a question," Ellie said to her mother. "Do you think I should go tell... _other dad_ that I'm back and okay? Does he know? Or would saying that I was in hell, but that I'm back now just alarm him?"

"Oh, no, I told him," Sarah replied as she finished changing Hannah's diaper. "He knew all along. So I'm sure he would be more than happy to hear that you're all right. Then when you get back, you and I will have a talk."

"What sort of a talk?" Ellie questioned. "Is it about how I went to hell? Cause I did what I thought was best for everyone and-"

"No, the point of the talk is not to scold you," Sarah assured her. "It's...it's about Hannah. You've had so many changes in your life. You went from a toddler to a young lady in two seconds. You went to hell. And now, you come back and you find out you're not an only child? I have no doubt you have feelings and if you need to express them...I want to give you the chance."

"Thanks," Ellie nodded. "Cause one of the things Lucifer did to try and convince me to stay with him was that he showed me this movie of you and Dad and Hannah, and there was like...nothing left of me in the house. It was like you were happy without me and I never existed. It hurt."

"Oh, honey," Sarah hugged her. "I know it probably did, and I'm sorry you had to go through it...but I _hope_ you knew in your heart that it was a lie. I hope so."

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "But the first minute or so, when, for some stupid reason, I believed it...that was hard." She sighed. "I'll go talk to Dad and then we can have our own little chat when I get back. Do you know where he is, by the way?"

"He said he was gonna stay with his parents until he knew that you were okay," Sarah replied. "That way, if you wanted to find him, he would be at a place that you were familiar with."

"All right," Ellie nodded. "Thanks!"

* * *

"Ellie!" Junior cried, reaching out to hug her when he saw her standing on his parents' front steps, and then giving her a smile and holding her at arms' length to look her over, knitting his eyebrows in mock confusion. "You _are_ Ellie, right?" He asked, a grin on his lips, and his voice full of sarcasm. "You look different from when I saw you last."

"Yeah, well...before I went to hell, I grew up a little, remember?" Ellie said, grinning back and continuing his teasing with her own sarcastic tone. "But it _is_ me. You look different too. Hair's a bit grayer..." She began circling around him and running her fingers through his hair.

"Is it now?" Junior asked, his eys widening, his hand over his mouth in mock horror. "Well, you better come in and sit down while I run to the store and get a bottle of dye!" He paused and smiled. "Wanna come inside?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded as he gestured for her to go ahead of him into the house and take a seat on the sofa. "Thanks. Are Grandma and Grandpa here?"

"No, they went to the grocery store, but if you have the time to wait until they get back, I know they'd be glad to know you're safe too."

"Actually, I'm glad we're alone for the time being cause...cause now that I'm back, there's something I want to say to you," Ellie told him. "And please don't talk until I'm through, okay?"

"Sure," Junior nodded. "Shoot."

Ellie took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I think that from the beginning, it was obvious that you and I weren't going to have a typical relationship. You weren't in my life. You ran away at the sight of me, and left Mom to raise me alone. If I had been old enough to understand it all, I probably wouldn't have thought much of you, especially with Josh around for comparison. But when Mom and I were really in trouble, when Dad was gone and we didn't have anyone else...you came through. You were a big help to both of us. And I wanted to say 'Thank you', cause it meant a lot. It...you being here and wanting to be part of my life closed the hole that would have been there if I'd grown up without you, no matter how much I love Josh. Instead of just him and Mom, I have him, and Mom, and you. And I like that better."

"I like it too," Junior nodded. "I know you might not believe it, but I always wanted a chance to make things better. I screwed up, but I grew up too, and I learned things. I learned what it finally meant to be a parent, something your mother learned much quicker than I did."

Ellie sighed. "And another reason why I'm glad I have you is that Mom and Josh had another baby. I have a little sister. And...I love her, I do. And I totally respect their right to have another kid, but..."

"It's a bit of a shock, isn't it?" Junior asked knowingly.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "And I know...I know Mom still cares about me and all, but she and Josh and my sister are all the biological family and I'm the odd one out. I'm a reminder of the screwy part of her life. And she said she wanted to talk about that, but I can't tell her the truth. It would just hurt her feelings! It would hurt her feelings to know that I feel less loved and stuff because she and Dad had another kid. So I'm keeping quiet."

"No, don't do that!" Junior shook his head. "If she told you that she knows you have concerns and wants you to voice them, you should take advantage of the opportunity. I'm sure she won't be mad at you. In fact, she'll probably be glad you let her in. Don't be like me; don't use a baby as an excuse to shut her out. It'll just hurt you and I don't want you to make the same mistake I did."

"So take her at her word?" Ellie questioned. "Even if I'm scared she doesn't want what she says she wants?"

"Yes," Junior nodded. "Tell her everything that's on your mind; get it out in the open. It'll be good for both of you."

"All right," Ellie replied and hugged him. "Will you...when I want to tell her will you be there with me?"

"Sure," Junior nodded. "Of course I will."

"Thanks," Ellie nodded and kissed his cheek. "Cause that will really make me feel better about it."

* * *

"Thank you for coming to tell us you're all right," Junior's mom, Mary said to Ellie. "When we heard what happened, we were horrified! But because our relationship with your mother has been...well, it's been better than we could have hoped, all things considering, but we never felt like your mother owed us visits with you or explanations about anything. This is a nice surprise."

"Well, I know my going...where I went was a shock to everyone and I wanted you all to know that I was okay," Ellie put a hand on Mary's arm. "Would you like me to get you a drink or something?"

"Oh, no, thanks," Mary shook her head. "I'm fine."

"Maybe a little too fine," Ellie said. "Why is everyone so calm about this?"

"Well, we're all magic, for one," her grandpa Liam replied. "And for two, your grandmother was cursed by a witch to turn into a monster when she turned sixteen or eighteen, I can't remember which, and after getting through that, the thought of my granddaughter going to hell is kind of par for the course. Sorry to disappoint you."

"No, no," Ellie shook her head. "I'm glad everyone's not freaked out. Cause I did this for a greater good, so...yeah."

"But seriously...are you okay?" Liam asked. "You...were you hurt?"

"Some typical hell things happened to me," Ellie nodded. "But if...I'm surrounded by people who care, which isn't a problem, I should be all right."

"Good," Mary nodded as they all hugged her. "We're here for you. Always."

"Thanks, Grandma," Ellie said. "I really appreciate that."

Then, knowing what was waiting for her at home, Ellie did her best to hold it off, helping Liam with chores and playing cards with Mary until Sarah called and said, "Are you still with your dad? Are you planning on being home for dinner?"

"Yeah, sorry," Ellie apologized. "We'll be back home in a little bit. Bye, Mom." Then, she stood up, hugged her grandparents goodbye, and locked eyes with Junior. "Time to go face the music," she remarked.

"It won't be as bad as you think," Junior replied. "Come on."

* * *

"There you are, Ellie," Josh remarked. "Your mother wants to talk to you."

"I know," Ellie nodded. "I need to talk to her, too. And Junior is here for moral support."

"Okay, good," Josh replied. "She's in our bedroom."

So they walked to the bedroom and Ellie knocked on the closed door. "Mom, can I come in?"

"Yes!" Sarah replied. "Please do!"

"And I came with her!" Junior added. "Is that okay?"

"If it is with her," Sarah agreed.

So they both came in and sat on the bed next to her. "Here we are," Ellie said. "Here to talk about...everything. Where do you want to start?"

"Well, let's start with...how do you really feel about Hannah?" Sarah questioned. "Are you really happy about her, or is that just for me?"

"No, no, I'm really happy, but...it feels kind of weird," Ellie admitted as Junior took her hand and squeezed. "You seem so happy with her, you know? And...well...have you always felt that same way with me, or was I just a constant reminder of how screwed up your life was?"

"No, no!" Sarah shook her head and pulled Ellie into a hug. "Of course that's not what you were! I love you, Ellie Bean! I always have! And sure, we had to be a little creative before Josh came along, but...it wasn't your fault. Don't _ever_ think it's your fault. Cause it isn't."

"Yeah," Junior nodded. "It's mine."

"But anyway," Sarah continued. "What I feel with Hannah is that she makes everything complete. She really helps me know that things have changed for the better. Now I truly no longer feel like my single-motherness is the biggest part of my identity. Now I'm a wife, a mother of two lovely daughters, and...I can do all sorts of new stuff that I didn't think were options for me before."

"But you don't hate me or think I'm in the way?" Ellie clarified.

"No!" Sarah shook her head. "I definitely don't. I'm sorry you did, though. Thank you for telling me, even if it must've been hard."

"I was originally going to keep it quiet so you wouldn't feel bad, but...Dad told me I should say something."

"You did?" Sarah looked at Junior in amazement. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Junior told her. "I thought you both would feel better if everything was out in the open."

"I do," Sarah nodded and gave Ellie a look. "Do you?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded and smiled. "I think I do."

* * *

"Bad day?" Dexter asked a blood soaked Lucifer as he returned to his room after his latest bout with the wrathful. He'd taken on several and it had done him a _world_ of good.

"No, good day," Lucifer shook his head and grinned. "Great, wonderful, _glorious_ day! I haven't gotten to have such a good time torturing people since before-" He paused. "Never mind. Have I seen the lustful yet? Maybe I should shower up and go see the lustful. They're always a fun bunch."

"Say it..." Dexter prodded. "Say how long it's been since you've had a good time torturing people."

"Why should I have to do that?" Lucifer questioned. "You know it will only make me angry."

"And that's your own fault that you can't talk about Miss Ellie without being angry," Dexter pointed out. "You drove her away!"

"And you helped her escape!" Lucifer burst out. "We still need to have a conversation about that one."

"If you want me to feel bad for helping her, I won't," Dexter replied defiantly.

"Of course you won't," Lucifer huffed and went to make himself one drink, and then another, and then another. "Everyone sticks up for _her._ "

"Because she is a nice person!" Dexter cried. "And she didn't deserve what you did to her. If you would have just told her how you felt about her...that you like her, because _you do,_ she wouldn't have felt the need to leave and we would all be better for it."

"Oh, don't be stupid!" Lucifer scoffed. "I don't like her. I don't need her. I can manage just fine. She's nothing but a...a person who sticks her nose in where it doesn't belong! She can stay right where she is and make others miserable for all I care!"

"This is gonna take a long time, isn't it?" Dexter asked. "You're just gonna ignore everything that could make you happy and let yourself be miserable instead."

"Well, yeah!" Lucifer nodded and threw a bottle at his bedroom wall, causing it to shatter. "Cause really, Dexter, what is the point of me being open about my feelings? Will my admitting what I feel suddenly make Eleanor want to come back so we can live happily ever after? No, it fucking won't! I'll just be here with a bunch of feelings that I will never be able to deal with because the person who is the cause of them is never coming back. I accept that. It's fine. I don't need her. It's bette for anger to be my chief emotion, anyway. It makes me better at my job. And what I learned from the mess with Eleanor is that if I get all touchy feely, I lose everyone's respect. I'd rather have my reputation than love and there you go."

"What if there was some way I could get you the sort of affirmation you needed?" Dexter asked.

"Well, good luck," Lucifer huffed. "It's not gonna happen."

"It might," Dexter said. "You never know. I'll see what I can do."

He left and Lucifer rolled his eyes. It would take a miracle for Ellie to come back to him now. For her to even look at him. And the devil never experienced miracles. They just weren't his department.

* * *

"All right," Alistair woke up one morning, got out of his sleeping bag, and headed for the bassinet where baby Christopher was sleeping. It had been an interesting start at first, but not as difficult as it probably would have been for most people because Christopher was not the first child of Klaus' that he had been around. The first part demon, sure. But Klaus had also fathered werewolf hybrids and witch hybrids, so a demon hybrid was just another challenge for him.

But when he reached the bassinet, to his shock, there was nothing in it. He looked around the cave for some reason, even though an infant was incapable of traveling, and of course, found nothing. Then, heard a noise...a cracking. He turned around, and there was a big, white cocoon, resting against a wall of the cave. And it was cracking. Something seemed to be trying to get out.

"Oh, my god," Alistair whispered, trying to wrack his brain. Then he remembered that his daughter had delivered a demon baby and had talked about the cocoon. He called her up, just as the gooey young man emerged from it and approached him, pausing uncertainly as he and Alistair both stared at one another.

"Daddy?" He asked. "What happened to me? I'm big now." He was a good looking boy with poofy blonde hair that hung into serious green eyes, and a muscular, compact body.

"I-I think it's just part of being a demon," Alistair tried to calm him down, zapping up a bath full of warm water, soap, and a wash cloth. "Why don't you clean yourself up and then we'll get you dressed and I'll explain more the best I can."

"Okay," Christopher nodded and got in the tub. "But you don't think I'm a freak?"

"No," Alistair shook his head and gave the young man a smile. "I think you're exactly what you're supposed to be, and that's good."

Christopher gave him a small smile then. "Thank you," he said. "You don't look a lot like me. Do I look more like my mom?"

"Actually, you look like both your parents," Alistair replied. "I'm not actually your father. Your father and I have been friends for a while and because the devil was after you, I agreed to watch you until he was off the trail."

"So my parents want me?" Christopher questioned as he washed himself. "They didn't just get rid of me?"

"No," Alistair shook his head. "It was a very hard decision for both of them, your mother in particular. Once you're dressed, would you like to go see them?"

"Is it safe?" Christopher questioned. "Would leaving here put me in danger?"

"I'm not sure," Alistair shrugged. "You make a good point. Your father knows where we are, so I could just call him and then he and your mother could come to _us._ Would you feel safer that way?"

"Yes," Christopher decided. "I would, thank you."

* * *

"I'm scared to go in there," Sybil said to Klaus as they made their way toward the cave. "What if Christopher hates us for giving him up and he's mad? I just...I don't think my heart could take it!"

"He won't be mad at us!" Klaus tried to assure her. "When we sent him with Alistair, it was for good reasons. It was because we care! I'm sure that Alistair let him know that. You don't have anything to worry about!"

But Sybil was still nervous. So nervous in fact that Klaus had to actually pick her up and carry her into the cave as she screamed, "No, no! I can't see him! I just can't!"

Then, as he put her down, he saw the hurt look in his son's eyes.

"I'm sorry," Christopher replied quietly, his eyes turning red as tears went down his face. "I knew this was a bad idea. I knew you wouldn't want to see me!"

"No, no," Klaus told him. "Your mother isn't upset about meeting you. She doesn't hate you. She just...she's afraid that you're so disappointed in how we gave you away that you won't forgive us."

Sybil ran over to him and hugged him. "Yes, that's right!" She asked desperately. "Do you forgive us?"

"If you want me and you sent me away to protect me, then...of course I forgive you!" Christopher told her. "If you don't mind a freak like me as a son. I came out of a cocoon, you know. Who does that?"

"It's a demon thing," Sybil told him. "You got it from me. I came out of a cocoon too. All it means is that you're fully grown. It's not something freakish."

"And when you start sprouting fur and turning into a wolf, that's from me," Klaus informed him. "We really gave you lots of stuff to deal with. But we're ready to help you with it."

"Good," Christopher smiled and wiped his eyes with his hand. "Thanks a lot, Mom and Dad!"

* * *

"Elijah!" His brother Kol greeted him as he opened the door. "I would say that I was pleased you came to visit your youngest living brother, but I think we both know that you're not here for me, are you?"

"I can't say it's my first priority, no," Elijah replied dryly and made his way inside. "But if you and Margot can convince Amy to come home with me, I suppose I could stay for a few extra hours."

"You came to take Amy home with you?" Kol questioned, eyebrow raised. "Well, thank you! She's _huge_ now and she's not sleeping, which is just problem for all of us!"

"Yes, it would be for you," Elijah returned dryly. "I know how you hate to miss out on your beauty rest."

"There's no shame in looking your best," Kol remarked, his dark eyes shining.

"Who is it?" His wife Margot called as she came down the stairs.

"It's my brother come to take your sister home with him!" Kol told her. "Lily must be doing better now."

"How is she doing?" Elijah asked Margot. "Is she well? Kol says she's not sleeping."

"Well, she's big, so it's kind of hard for her to get comfortable," Margot replied, shaking out her red hair. "But other than that, she's good. If you want to talk to her, you better hurry. She's trying for a nap at the moment."

So Elijah ran upstairs and found his very pregnant wife trying to get comfortable and close her eyes.

"Oh, hello," she greeted him with a yawn. "I'm sorry if you came for a date, but I am just too tired."

"Yes, I heard," Elijah nodded. "Want me to give you a back rub to help you sleep?"

"Yes, that would be nice," Amy nodded.

So he did, and when he could tell that she had dozed off, he picked her up and carried her down the stairs.

"Where are you going with my sister?" Margot questioned.

"I'm taking her home with me," Elijah replied. "Practically that'll be easier than trying to move her and the baby later. Don't you think?"

"I suppose, if that's what you want," Margot sighed. "But she's going to be kind of mad at you for taking her away without her permission. Are you prepared to deal with that?"

"Yes," Elijah nodded. "I'll take her hom and then come back for her things. Is that all right with you? Thank you for watching over her for me."

"You're welcome," Margot smiled. "And we'll have her stuff ready soon. Kol's been wanting to pack for her for ages."

"Of course he has," Elijah nodded knowingly. "He's never really been a fan of a house guest of Amy's type. He only likes it when they come to party."

* * *

Although he had hoped to get Amy in the house and up to bed before she awoke, her eyes opened as they pulled into the driveway.

"What are we doing here?" Amy asked. "Did you take me while I was sleeping? I was going to come home eventually. You couldn't have just let me leave on my own? See, this is exactly why I left in the first place! Cause you're such a damn control freak, even though I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

"I thought it would be easy to get you home first so that we wouldn't have to move you, baby, and all of the baby's things at one time!" Elijah told her. "Excuse me for being practical!"

"You could have at least waited and asked me to come with you first," Amy snapped. "That is what normal, considerate, non control freak people do!"

"So you're telling me that you see _no_ benefit to coming back here?" Elijah countered. "You're so proud that you can't see the good side of this at all?"

"Well, your brother Kol is a pain in the butt," Amy admitted. "I got the room with the biggest mirror and he would come in stare at himself whenever he felt like it. Even when I was sleeping! The first time he did it, I almost had a heart attack! And the parties he and Margot throw: you can't sleep through those, especially not when Margot gets really drunk, stumbles into your bedroom and throws up on the floor before collapsing into your bed!" She shuddered. "I guess a good night's sleep alone is a good enough reason to be glad I'm back with you...but I still don't like that you basically kidnapped me!"

"Oh, but what I did was _not_ kidnapping!" Elijah cried and waved the thought away. "Don't be over dramatic!"

"You carried me out of my sister's house while I was sleeping!" Amy cried. " _How_ is that not kidnapping?"

"Cause I didn't use force, your sister knew I was leaving with you, and I am not holding you for ransom." Elijah pointed out. "Thus, it is technically not a kidnapping. You want me to tuck you into bed?"

"As long as you're not coming in bed _with_ me," Amy sighed. "But first, I have to go to the bathroom."

"You do that," Elijah replied. "And it won't be like this for much longer! That's a happy thought, right?"

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "That's something, I guess."


	21. Miss Ellie's Baby

"There you go, Ellie Bean," Josh grinned and plunked eggs and bacon in front of his daughter. "A nice, healthy breakfast."

"Thank you!" Ellie replied, then eagerly picked up her fork to dig in, but the second she looked down at the bacon, the overpowering smell of it hit her. "Oh, dear," she said, trying to ignore it, and stuff the bacon in her mouth without smelling it. But that was an even worse idea. The taste of the bacon was even worse than the smell and she immediately ran to the sink to throw it up.

"Ellie Bean, oh, my god!" Sarah yelled as she watched her daughter just be sicker and sicker. "What's happening?" She turned to look at Josh, her eyes full of worry. "We should get her to a hospital!"

"Let's wait until she stops puking first," Josh replied and put a hand on Ellie's back. "Come on, sweetheart. Let it all out. It'll be okay."

Finally, it all stopped and Ellie stood up straight, her whole body warm and shaking. "Sorry," she apologized. "I don't know what happened. First the bacon smelled really strong and then...then when I ate it, it just made me sick...which is weird. How can I be sick?"

"It could be because..." Sarah began, but trailed off. "No," she shook her head. "It can't be. You can't be pregnant. I don't even want to think about that."

Josh turned. "How the hell could she be pregnant? Don't you even say that, Sarah!"

"Right," Sarah gave a thin lipped smile and took Hannah out of her carrier. "I don't even know why I brought it up."

* * *

The rest of the day was spent in tense, awkward silence as Ellie took to bed and was plied with crackers, toast, and clear soda by Josh and Sarah looked after Hannah.

They finally switched positions just as night fell, and when Sarah came in and sat on Ellie's bed, Ellie asked, "Be honest with me...do you think I'm pregnant?"

"Well, your symptoms are similar to what was going on with me when I was pregnant with Hannah, but...how?" Sarah asked. Then, her eyes widened. "Don't tell me that Lucifer..."

Ellie gave a brief nod.

"Oh, honey!" Sarah hugged her. "I'm so sorry! If it were easy, I would go down to hell and kill the bastard myself! What did you do in his mind to deserve that?"

"I-I kinda took over hell and made him feel all emasculated," Ellie replied. "It was his way of getting things back to how they were supposed to be. And the real shame is that if he hadn't of pissed me off so much before hand, I might have actually liked it."

"Eleanor!" Sarah cried. "What in the world are you saying? He's the devil, remember?"

"And Josh is a demon," Ellie reminded her. "They're practically the same thing."

Sarah sighed. "What do you think about going to the doctor tomorrow or at least getting a pregnancy test so we know for sure?"

"We might as well," Ellie nodded.

"How do you feel about it?" Sarah asked in a muted voice. "If it turns out that you _are_ expecting, will you keep the child?"

"No," Ellie spat. "Not a chance in hell!"

* * *

A loud crash from the direction of the garage brought Josh's head up as he clutched the plate he was washing tighter so it wouldn't break. Then the door opened and Ellie letting out a stream of epithets he didn't know she knew met his ears.

"I would ask what the verdict is, but I don't think I need to," he replied.

"No," Sarah sighed. "It's true. She's pregnant."

"And I'm sorry if the front of the car has a dent in it," Ellie snapped. "It had an unfortunate run in with the garage wall." She then stomped away, yelling more curses and ran upstairs. They heard crashes and bangs overhead, followed by crying because all the noise had awakened Hannah.

"My god, I've never heard her so mad before," Josh remarked. He was starting to be a bit scared.

"It's twins," Sarah got out. "Not just one baby. Should we tell her to calm down?"

"No," Josh shook his head. "I'll stay with Ellie and let her have a chance to get her feelings out, and why don't you take Hannah to your parents' house? She can get a good rest there."

"Good idea," Sarah nodded. "I'll do that."

Once they were gone, Josh waited downstairs until the banging stopped, and then steeled himself to go to Ellie's room. He opened the door and found her hitting her pillow repeatedly,

"I'm sorry this happened to you," he told her. "I won't let him get away with it. I'll kill him."

"No," Ellie sniffled. "Don't you dare! You could get hurt or trapped. Besides, _I_ was the one Lucifer wronged. If anyone will kill him to avenge all this, it's going to be me. No one else."

"All right," Josh told her and gave her a hug. "Whatever you want is all right with me."

* * *

"Okay, here's today's mail..." Dexter announced. "Bill...bill...bill, note from Upstairs...letter from the gluttony demons...magazine..."

"Wait!" Lucifer stopped him. "Put all that stuff on the table. Except that letter from upstairs. Did you say I had a letter from upstairs?"

"Yeah," Dexter nodded and held up the white envelope. "Here."

"What does it say? Did you read it?" Lucifer questioned.

"I tried to do that once and you set me on fire after telling me never to open your letters," Dexter reminded him. "So...no. But I bet it's nothing bad. Maybe it's about Miss Ellie!"

"Probably," Lucifer nodded. "They're probably mad she made me fall down on the job." He grabbed a letter opener and tore the pristine white envelope open.

"What does it say?" Dexter asked.

"I will tell you after I read it," Lucifer replied. "Now go pay the gas bill. All the fire doesn't just appear, you know."

"It does, but I can't believe you're charged for it," Dexter rolled his eyes and left as Lucifer opened the letter, which told him he was being relocated to earth to lead the demons.

He couldn't believe it! He had to read it over four or five times before he finally came to terms with what it said.

"Dexter!" He yelled. "Dexter, get in here!"

"Yes, sir?" Dexter appeared before him. "Can I get you a drink? What's the matter?"

"This letter from Upstairs says I'm being relocated," Lucifer told him. "That I'm being instated as the leader of the demons on earth."

"Oh, how exciting!" Dexter grinned and did a little dance. "It means you and Ellie will be reunited!"

Lucifer scoffed and crumpled up the note. "They've all lost their minds! Who will take care of things here if I go manage the demons on earth? Who?"

"I'm sure we can find someone," Dexter told him. "It'll be all right. There's no need to worry. Want me to help you start packing?"

"I'm not going," Lucifer huffed. "I don't care what that letter says. They can go screw themselves."

Dexter took the note and read it himself. "You have to go," he said. "If you value your life you have to go. If you decide to stay here, you'll die." He pointed to a paragraph in much smaller print at the bottom of the letter before the signature. "Did you see that?"

"Oh, damn!" Lucifer huffed. "I hate that they know me so well up there. Well, I don't understand this plan at all, and I doubt it'll do any good, but...if I have to go on pain of death...I have no other choice, do I?"

"No," Dexter shook his head. "No, you don't. And don't worry. I'll smooth things over for you with Miss Ellie."

"Thank you," Lucifer told him sarcastically as Dexter and a few other demons began packing his things.

"You're welcome," Dexter smiled. "You'll thank me later, I promise!"

* * *

"I thought I would come and give you your bracelet back," Selina told Dorian. "I know this seems like giving up and it's not your fault that you don't remember me, but I just...I can't wait around forever, and I'm sorry. I can't...I can't do this anymore." She held the bracelet out to him and he took it.

"It probably doesn't mean anything to you that I'm giving this back, but...it meant a lot to me when I had it. Even though it was only for a short time, you were the best husband I've ever had and that's saying something." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye, Dorian."

It was as she walked away that he spoke. "Wait, Selina!" He cried, running to her, grabbing her, pulling her close and kissing her soundly. "You don't have to give this back," he told her, a cute, sincere smile on his face and a light in his eyes. "I remember you now. I do. Please don't give me the bracelet back. Please."

"Do you _really_ remember?" Selina questioned. "You seem better, but...I'm not sure."

"You sing 'My Girl' in the shower every morning," Dorian told her. "You like to sleep bundled in covers after I give you a back rub. You knitted me a red sweater with one sleeve that's a bit short because you ran out of yarn, and you promised...you promised me that you'd make me a red velvet cake for my next birthday. Three layers, black frosting."

"Jeepers!" Selina whispered and then threw her arms around him to kiss him again. "It _is_ you!"

"Yeah, it's me!" Dorian smiled. "And I couldn't be more relieved that I finally remember. You weren't too worried, were you?"

"I tried not to be, but sometimes it was hard not to lose hope," Selina told him. "Would you like to go home?"

"Yes," Dorian replied, turning to look over his shoulder as Rodan and Kathrine made out on a sofa that was in clear view. "I think...I think we should give them some privacy."

* * *

They drove home and found Lily and Arthur in the same position on the living room sofa. "I hope you remembered to use protection!" Selina remarked, causing them to pull apart.

"Sorry!" Arthur apologized as a blush colored Lily's cheeks. "But...she remembers me now and...and we're...celebrating."

"And we can't do it at my house," Lily added. "Cause Mom's pregnant and Dad would be freaked out by it, but we thought you would be okay. Sorry if you aren't."

"No, no, go ahead," Selina replied. "Just do it in your bed, all right? That's my good leather sofa."

"All right," Arthur grinned and grabbed Lily's hand as they ran off to his room and her giggle echoed off the walls.

"Want to follow their lead?" Dorian questioned. "I bet it's been a while for you."

"It has," Selina nodded. "First, I want to eat. Then we can follow their lead."

"All right with me," Dorian grinned and picked her up. "To the kitchen we go!"

* * *

"Still practicing gluttony, I see," remarked a voice from behind Ellie as she snagged food out of the refrigerator. It had taken some time before they'd finally figured out the sort of stuff she could eat without getting sick. Raw meat seemed to be a favorite of whatever was inside her. And chocolate cake. Not vegetables, though. Josh had tried to give her broccoli and she had been stuck in bed after for two days.

Ellie gasped and turned, a half-eaten raw chicken breast in her hand. "Dexter!" She whispered, turning away from the fridge and turning the kitchen light on. "What are you doing here? It better not be to take me back to him. I have enough troubles already. See?"

It was then that Dexter noticed her just visible belly. "Well, that's unexpected."

"Yeah, you think?" Ellie scoffed. "I tried to get rid of them cause I want no part of _him_ anymore, but apparently, if I kill them, then I'll die, according to Josh, so...yeah. That won't happen. But once they're born and no longer a danger to me, I'm going to put them up for adoption because I can't raise his children. I just can't."

"I'm not here to take you back to Lucifer if you don't want to go," Dexter replied. "I suppose I could tell him about this, if you want. Lighten the burden a bit?"

"What would he care?" Ellie demanded. "He's probably spawned lots of little Damians over the years and hasn't given a crap about a single one."

"Actually he hasn't," Dexter shook his head. "Usually, he kills a woman after sex, specifically so he won't have to deal with this."

"Well, if that's the plan, he can slit my throat right now and I'll thank him," Ellie snapped. Then, she changed her mind. "No, don't you say a word," she breathed. "He's going to watch his spawn when it's born and if you say anything, it'll just give him a chance to weasel out of his responsibilities. I won't let that happen. I won't."

"I understand what you mean," Dexter replied, coming toward her. "I'm sorry this happened to you."

"Thanks," Ellie remarked. "At least someone is. Is it true that Luci kills women after sex? Or was that just a joke?"

"No," Dexter shook his head. "Not a joke at all."

"While it's true that at times I feel that I would much rather be dead," Ellie informed him. " But this time, I won't let him get off that easy. Don't you agree with me?"

"Yes," Dexter nodded. "I guess I do. I think parenting with the right woman would do him some good."

"Oh, he won't do it with me," Ellie shook her head. "At least not right away. I never said I wanted these children and I won't just take care of them because I'm the mother. Nope, sorry. Won't happen."

"All right," Dexter agreed. "I suppose I understand."

"Thank you," Ellie replied and continued to nibble on the raw meat. "And remember, next time you see him, don't tell him a thing about what's coming for him."

"Oh, I won't," Dexter promised. "I swear." Then he disappeared into the dark, Ellie finished her chicken, and tried to get some rest.

* * *

Despite his promise not to say a word to Lucifer about Ellie's condition, Dexter felt that in this case, he had to say _something._

"Miss Ellie's pregnant!" He burst out to Lucifer. "And I'm not disposing of her like you've always wanted me to do with your flings! You have to face your responsibilities this time!"

"I'm going to be a father with Eleanor?" Lucifer grinned. "How nice! That means she _has_ to spend time with me!"

"No, she doesn't," Dexter shook his head. "She doesn't want to keep the children because they are too much of a reminder of your bad actions toward her. She's carrying them to term because she doesn't want them to die, and then you and I are going to take them."

"What?" Lucifer asked. "You and I raising children alone? That's impossible!"

"How do you know that when you've never done it before?" Dexter questioned. "It could be a good learning experience. Plus, doing so and relieving Ellie of the burden might make her relieved enough to choose to come and join you on her own at some point and wouldn't that be better than forcing her just because you feel it's her job to help you with your family?"

"I doubt it will happen," Lucifer huffed.

"Just be patient and have faith," Dexter replied. "It might."

Lucifer chuckled and shook head. "First miracles and now faith," he said. "I'm beginning to wonder if you remember who I am."

"I do," Dexter nodded. "I know who you _could be_ , too. Don't you?"


	22. I'm Moving In

"Oh, my god," Ellie sighed as she and Sarah drove up the driveway of their house and noticed a new house they'd never seen before but that still looked strangely familiar occupying a formerly empty lot down the street and across from them. "What...where did that house come from? Houses just don't appear overnight!"

"That _is_ unusual, but I'm sure it's nothing to get worked up about, Ellie Bean," Sarah told her. "I'm gonna go in with the groceries, and I really think you should come with me."

"Thanks, but...I need to investigate this first."

The closer and closer she got to the very familiar-looking mansion, the more convinced she was about the identity of her new neighbor. She got on the porch, knocked on the door, and when it opened, she slapped the person on the other end.

"You're lucky it's me, Eleanor," Lucifer remarked as he rubbed his cheek. "Otherwise you would have made a very vivid impression on an innocent person."

"Look at me!" Ellie cried. "Are you saying that you're not innocent? Are you admitting this condition I'm in is all your fault? You better!"

"Oh, my god," he said, but didn't back away. "You really _are_ expecting!"

"Damn right!" Ellie crossed her arms. "And I would like to say that I'm pleased you got such a big house cause the second your children are born, they're coming to live with you and I'm washing my hands of this whole unpleasant situation."

"And you really trust me to do that?" Lucifer questioned. "You trust me with children?"

"That doesn't matter," Ellie shrugged. "You can care for them, you can roast them on a spit and eat them...whatever. I have no emotional investment in them cause, as you know, they remind me of terrible things that are all your fault!"

"You have to still like me at least a little," Lucifer remarked. "Otherwise, you wouldn't come here to yell at me in person, would you? You would have called, or stayed away completely!"

"Oh, don't you flatter yourself," Ellie spat. "I hate you! I will _always_ hate you! Nothing will change that. The really shameful thing though is that if you had just held onto your temper and talked to me...we really could have had something. Cause I realize I overstepped my bounds a bit. I know I screwed up. That's on me, and I'm sorry. But it doesn't excuse how you treated me. It doesn't."

"Thank you," Lucifer nodded. "Thank you very much."

They stared at one another, breathing hard, nostrils flared, and just as Ellie was about to leave, Dexter came up behind Lucifer and called out to her.

"Want to come in?" He questioned. "Please?"

"Yes," Lucifer grinned. "Please come in, Eleanor? Please?"

"I'm not doing this for you," Ellie told him as she made her way into the mansion. "I'm doing this for Dexter cause I like _him_ better!"

When they reached the living room and Ellie was sitting down, Lucifer gave her a grin. "Can i get you a drink, Eleanor?" He asked.

"No, thanks," Ellie replied. "I can get it myself. Where's the kitchen?"

"Let me show you," Lucifer offered and held out his arm, which made Ellie scoff.

"I can walk, thank you," she told him.

"Well, all right," Lucifer stepped back and put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I was just trying to be nice."

"The nicest thing for you to do for me right now would be to stay away," Ellie snapped and poured herself a glass of water. "What are you doing here, anyway? Did you find out I was pregnant and decide to come and spy on me?"

"No, not really," Lucifer shook his head. "Surprising though it might be to you, Eleanor, there are parts of my life, really important parts, that don't involve you. I was actually sent here because of the demons."

"So you _were_ told to bring them back!" Ellie turned. "Well, that's just great! I make this big sacrifice and it ruins my life, and it turns out it's for nothing. That's just fucking dandy!" She then threw the glass hard against the wall over Lucifer's head, causing water to slop everywhere and the glass itself to shatter into many tiny and some large pieces.

"What was that crash?" Dexter questioned, running to them, panting heavily. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, but we better clean this up before someone gets hurt!" Lucifer remarked. He was barefoot and had to watch where he stepped so the glass wouldn't cut him. "Can you do that, Dexter?"

"Oh, I'll do it!" Ellie told him and zapped all the glass and water away. "Don't make the poor man do everything!"

"He works for me!" Lucifer told him. "'Everything' is what he does!"

"You just don't have a clue, do you?" Ellie asked and then strode out of the kitchen.

"What did you do to her now?" Dexter asked in a deadpan voice. "Can't you go two minutes without making her angry?"

"That's her chief sin, so I don't know," Lucifer shrugged. "I wish she were more like her sister. Selina's got gluttony, lust, _and_ anger, which is _much_ more interesting."

"What did you tell her?" Dexter repeated. "What set her off this time?"

"I just told her why we're here," Lucifer replied. "It was the truth, too. But she is convinced that I'm here to take the demons back and her sacrifice was for nothing and blah, blah, blah...hence the broken glass. This is why I'm never honest. It gets me nowhere. When I lie, I get in trouble, and when I tell truth, I also get in trouble."

"Keep telling the truth," Dexter urged. "Then when she finds out she was unnecessarily harsh, she has to apologize to you. It will do good for you in the long run, even though it might not seem like it now. Did you say she wanted water?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "She did."

So Dexter got her the water and they headed back to the living room, with Dexter sitting close to Ellie and Lucifer standing against wall nearby.

"I bet you're wondering what we're doing here," Dexter said as he handed Ellie the water glass. "Whatever you might think, it's because his boss sent us to look after the demons."

"And by 'look after' you mean 'take away,' right?" Ellie questioned, her eyes still narrowed as she glared at Lucifer.

"No, no!" Dexter shook his head. "That's not the case at all! In fact, us being here is the only reason they're allowed to stay!"

"Keep talking," Ellie requested. "What could you possibly mean by that?"

"Well, from our creation, all demons have been under Lucifer's watch," Dexter explained. "Made by our higher ups to make sure the vampires and werewolves and all don't get out of control and cause trouble on earth. We're not meant to have normal lives of our own with spouses and children, see. That's not the hand we were dealt. So when your stepfather and the others conspired to come down here and do just that...well, they were really breaking the rules."

"Which is why you took them back," Ellie realized as she caught Lucifer's eye.

"Yes, exactly!" Lucifer nodded. "The plan was to just take the demons back and that would be that. But then _you_ offered to come with me in exchange for their return to earth and everything was thrown into tumult."

"Well, I hope you're not blaming me!" Ellie told him. "I'm not apologizing for wanting my father back!"

"I'm not asking you to apologize!" Lucifer snapped through gritted teeth. "There's nothing to apologize for! The point is that you made enough of a case for the demons being on earth being a positive thing that all of us had to shake up the long-term plan. You really should be impressed with yourself."

"I'm not," Ellie sighed. "Not if it brought _you_ here."

"I could go," Lucifer replied. "But then Josh would have to go. So we're really a package deal here. The demons are on earth and I...I watch over them to make sure that nothing goes too horribly wrong...or I go back home and I take them with me. Which one would you prefer? It's all up to you."

"Honestly, at this point, I really don't know," Ellie snapped and downed the water in one gulp. "Actually, you have to stay, don't you? Cause of the babies. If you go, I'll have to take care of them, and as I have made abundantly clear, I'm not up to that. Not after everything else you put me through."

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "You've made that abundantly clear, and I get it. I'm sorry for all this. I'm sorry I wasn't patient and I did something that...made you that mad at me in the first place."

"Are you really?" Ellie asked. "Or are you apologizing in the hope that I won't be mad at you anymore?"

"What sort of a fool do you take me for?" Lucifer asked. "I know how long rage can last. As much as I might wish otherwise, I know that this won't go away over night. I accept it. And we'll deal with things accordingly."

"Well, I hope so!" Ellie told him. "And...since you told the truth about why you're here, I'm sorry I accused you of lying. Thank you for being honest."

"You're welcome," Lucifer told her. "And thank you for thanking me for being honest. I appreciate that."

"I'm not unreasonable," Ellie said. "When you act like a jerk, that's how I'll treat you. And when...when you're nice, I'll acknowledge that too."

"So do you think...do you think if I can keep being honest...there's a chance for us again?" Lucifer questioned.

"Maybe," Ellie told him with a sigh. "We'll see." Her eye caught the clock on the wall. "I better get going. I didn't exactly tell my mother I was coming over here and she's probably wondering where I am."

"Why don't I walk you over?" Lucifer offered. "It would be kind to let your mother know I'm here, wouldn't you say?"

"Oh, I suppose if it's really necessary for you to do so, you can walk me home," Ellie sighed. "Just don't touch me. Keep your hands at your sides. Don't put them in your pants pockets."

"All right, all right..." he showed her both his hands. "There you go. Not in pockets, hanging innocently at my sides. Happy?"

"For the moment," Ellie nodded. "But I'm not taking my eyes off of you for a minute."

"Don't worry, I'll do the same for you," Lucifer promised.

Ellie made her way across the street without watching for cars first and was nearly hit, with Lucifer blocking it with his body. And as the driver swore, he shouted at the man, "She's pregnant! Fuck off and be more careful when you drive!"

"I could have handled that," Ellie told him after. "That jerk doesn't scare me."

"Well, I'm sure your mother wouldn't want you to get in more fights than you can help," Lucifer replied and urged her onward until they were standing by the front door. "I'll leave you here," he told her.

"Good," Ellie replied. "The next time you'll see me is when I'm in labor, but not before that, all right?"

"Can't wait," Lucifer smiled. "See you later, Eleanor."

"You bet you will," Ellie showed him her teeth before she went inside and slammed the door behind her before going to tell Sarah that she was home and that Lucifer was their new neighbor.

* * *

"Well, look who's back?" Jeffrey sighed as Mikael again barged into the house and interrupted breakfast. "Gwen, you really _should_ take his key away."

"I try," Gwen replied. "But somehow he always finds a way to get it back."

"I know where you hide it," Mikael grinned. "You really should find a better place if you don't want me to come back."

"All right," Gwen nodded, her eyes narrowed. "That can be easily arranged. Why do you always come bother us in the morning?"

"Because when people have just awakened, their guard is down," Mikael replied. "If you're only half awake, you won't be able to stop me as quickly."

"Well, luckily for us, I'm awake now," Jeffrey smiled. "And I remember everything." He grabbed Mikael by the collar. "I would love nothing more than to toss you out on your ass now!" He carried him to the door and Mikael bit him and caused Jeffrey to drop him on the floor.

"I have something I actually want to discuss with you today, Gwendolyn," he told Gwen. "What do you know about our son having a ridiculous idea in his head that I need to date? Did you put him up to it so I'd leave you alone?"

"Somewhat," Gwen nodded. "But can't you just accept it as an act of kindness? Not for the poor girls stuck in your company of course. But I should get credit for trying to distract you."

"Well, since I'm still here, you did a lousy job, didn't you?" Mikael asked. "You seem to always make the same mistakes. Could it be that you really don't want to keep me out as much as you pretend?"

"No, I definitely do," Gwen told him. "It's you that doesn't seem to get the message. It's not hard to stay away when people want you to."

"Yes, why can't you get it through that thick head of yours?" Jeffrey questioned. "We don't want you here! Get out!"

"Fine," Mikael huffed and grabbed a couple of muffins for the road. "I know when I'm not wanted!" He didn't really want the muffins, but enjoyed the twitch of Jeffrey's face when he saw that they were being taken. "Goodbye."

* * *

"Were you out making more trouble for Mom and Jeffrey?" King asked knowingly as Mikael made his way into the house where he'd situated himself. His son and daughter-in-law weren't exactly fans of the arrangement, but conceded that it was better than some others Mikael could have made.

"I was just making sure everything was all right," Mikael told him. "But I did get a cheek twitch out of Jeffrey, so I didn't go all that way for nothing."

"If you're making all this trouble because you still have feelings for Gwen and you don't want her to be with anyone else, why don't you say something?" Vivi questioned. "If you're honest and sincere, I'm sure she'd think about it."

"No, she wouldn't," Mikael shook his head. "She's too far up Jeffrey's ass now for that to happen."

"And I wonder why that is when you were such a good and loving husband to her before," King raised an eyebrow. "Just let it go and be glad she's still willing to talk with you for my sake. Don't make things more awkward then they need to be," King begged.

"I knew you'd take your mother's side," Mikael scoffed. "You always have."

"Cause she's the sane one!" King cried. "Call me crazy, but I don't like to be surrounded by lots of unnecessary trouble!"

"How are we even related?" Mikael questioned, shaking his head. "I just don't understand it. I don't!"

He strode off and King sighed and looked at Vivi. "Do you think he's right? Do you think there's something wrong with me?"

"No," Vivi shook her head. "There's nothing wrong with wanting calm. I'm glad you are how you are. It's good to know there's at least one sane person in your family."

* * *

Selina opened the door in response to his knock and for the second time in far too few days, Lucifer found himself injured by a woman.

"What did you do that for?" He asked when he got to his feet and put a hand over his broken nose. "What did I do to deserve such a greeting? I thought you were all about inviting people in for cookies and tea!"

"Not when they've come to separate my husband from me again!" Selina replied, eyes narrowed as she put herself in a better position to block his way. "People who ruin my life don't get cookies!"

"I didn't come to take your husband or any of the other demons back to hell," Lucifer tried to reassure her. "I came to have a nice, peaceful discussion with him about the demon government and how I'm leading it now. I'm sure it'll be a nice break for him. All the pressure of ruling off his shoulders..."

"Who said you were ruling?" Selina asked. "Is it because you're mad the demons got to get away from you and be happy?"

"My goodness, you are damn exhausting sometimes, aren't you?" Lucifer questioned, frowning at her and rubbing his temple. For such a tiny woman, she sure knew how to hit all the nerves. "Not to mention incredibly thick!" He knocked her head lightly. "Why would I be mad about them leaving hell when I was the one who _bloody_ let them go?!"

"What's going on?" Dorian asked as he came up behind his wife. "Lucifer, I'm not going back to hell. I won't."

"He wants to talk to you about the demon government," Selina replied. "Apparently, we're being overthrown."

"What?" Dorian asked. "No, that can't be right! Who would allow that?"

"People who realize that you won't come back to hell without a fight but also know that you being on earth and establishing families is against the rules," Lucifer replied and showed his teeth. "So this is the compromise: if you're here, then I'm here. No more jaunts back to hell, though. Can I come in so we can discuss this like reasonable people?"

"Well, will you be standing on our doorstep until we let you in?" Selina asked. "Would it be pointless to say 'No' to you?"

"I'm giving you exactly what you want," Lucifer huffed. "I don't know why people always have to be so difficult about it. This is exactly why I like working more with the morally corrupt than the morally righteous: they're not so picky. All you have to do is wave money or whatever it is that they want in front of their faces and they'll agree to anything."

Selina stepped aside and Dorian gestured for him to come in, and Lucifer did so with a smile. "Can I have some bourbon with ice, please?" He questioned. "Oh, and maybe a little piece of cake, if it's not too much trouble?"

"Sure," Selina nodded and gave him a forced smile. "Whatever you want."

* * *

When Lucifer was sitting on their living room sofa with his cake and bourbon, they waited for him to take a few bites and a sip and then Dorian felt it was all right to get down to business.

"So what exactly is going on here?" He questioned. "Did you say you _didn't_ come to take us back?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "I promise you that won't happen. You apparently proved yourselves when it came to not causing trouble, so you got the okay from my boss to stay. But just to be _sure_ that pattern continues, I'm here. It's a safety measure."

"And what about you running the demon government?" Dorian asked. "Did you say you run the government now?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "That's one of the stipulations of your getting to stay. I hope it doesn't bother you too much. I know what fun you were having."

"It wasn't fun," Dorian shook his head. "It was a job I took very seriously."

"We'll still get to keep the penthouse and the money and stuff, right?" Selina questioned. "Even though we're not rulers? You won't take that away?"

"No, no," Lucifer shook his head. "I don't need your precious penthouse. You can keep it." He grinned. "I have to admire you, dear," he told her. "All this at stake and the thing that worries you most is whether or not you'll still get to keep your stuff. Greed was not something I expected out of Miss 'I hate my rich family and I'm gonna rebel by wearing hand me down clothes'."

"Well...it's not greed to want to not have to radically change my life!" Selina said, although her cheeks colored a dark shade of pink. "I've got nothing to be ashamed of!"

"No, as long as you behave yourself, I assure you that you don't," Lucifer told her. "Anyway, that's the deal. You don't have to do anything. And I'm sure that finding new ways to spend your time won't be difficult now that you don't have to work, right?"

"N-no," Dorian shook his head. "If these are our new circumstances, we'll manage."

"Good," Lucifer nodded and finished his drink before taking another bite of cake. "This is very good," he complimented Selina. "I really have to give you credit. No wonder you're so gluttonous if you can cook like this."

"Thank you..." Selina told him. "I think. That was a compliment, right?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "It was. Will you tell the others how things will work from now on? Or would you like me to?"

"No, we will," Dorian assured him. "It won't be a problem."

"Good," Lucifer handed Selina his empty plate. "Now I'd like another piece of cake."

"The first piece is me being hospitable," Selina told him, refusing to take the plate from his hands. "If you want another one, get it yourself." She pointed. "The kitchen's just that way and there's a knife for cutting next to the cake display."

* * *

"Now," Gregory said as he and AnnaLynne made their way to Dorian and Selina's house, up the stairs, and to the front door, which Gregory knocked on. "Don't say a word about how I tried to propose to you before, in case your dad thinks that's overstepping boundaries. Act like all of this is happening for the first time when I do it."

"I-I don't think we should do this at all," AnnaLynne said. "At least not now. Can't we date for a few years first? Do you have a problem with that?"

"But if we don't marry now, what will I do with the ring?" Gregory questioned. "You can't just have big diamonds lying around forever!"

"So there's not a single safe place you can put it?" AnnaLynne questioned. "Are you really that bad of a planner? I would have thought you'd be more on the ball than that."

Selina let them in then, a smile on her face. "Can I see the ring?" She asked. "Is it still shiny and pretty? I can't believe my son is actually getting engaged!"

"Actually, we're not yet," Gregory heaved a big sigh. "She wants to wait first."

"Well, now that we're not in a life or death situation, I don't see what the problem is with waiting a bit," AnnaLynne said. "Granted, you're so predictable that I probably know all about you already, but...still. Please? Please can we date?"

"Oh, all right, we can date," Gregory replied. "I...that could be fun."

So instead of proposing, Gregory asked Dorian another different question.

"Now that everyone has their memories back, and we're all in the same place...is it okay if I date your daughter?" He questioned. "Or is that weird?"

"No," Dorian shook his head. "Go ahead. She could be good for you." He paused and turned to face his daughter. "AnnaLynne, is this what you want?"

"Yeah," AnnaLynne nodded. "He wanted to marry me, actually. Remember? But we're downgrading it to dating now that we're no longer in a life or death situation and can actually see each other again."

"I remember," Dorian nodded. "That's why I'm glad you clarified the reasons for the change."

He sighed then and went back to seeming morose.

"Daddy, are you okay?" AnnaLynne got out. "What's the problem? Is there something we can do?"

"No, it's nothing you can help with," Dorian shook his head. "We got good news: we're going to be able to stay on earth without any more threats of being taken back to hell."

"Well, that's good," AnnaLynne nodded. "I don't want to go back to hell. It wasn't fun. But from your face, I can tell there's bad news too: what is it?"

"Lucifer's been assigned to manage us now," Dorian sighed. "Not me. I've been reduced to...to common man status. What in the hell am I supposed to do with myself?"

"You have plenty to do with yourself!" AnnaLynne encouraged. "You have houses to run and companies to manage and a family to look after. It's not like you're completely aimless. It just means you don't have to have as late of nights at the office."

"Well, that's something," Dorian replied. "I haven't looked at it like that before."

"Does it help?" Gregory asked.

"Yeah," Dorian nodded. "It kind of does."

"Well, then, let's go out to dinner to celebrate freedom from the pain in the butt that is being the top ruler of the government and the fact that I'm finally dating a guy you actually like!" AnnaLynne suggested with a smile. "What do you say?"

"I say...let's go!" Dorian replie, grabbing Selina's hand and letting Gregory and AnnaLynne lead the way to the car.


	23. The Devil's Children

"Eleanor!" Lucifer cried happily when he opened the door to find Ellie on the front steps, glaring at him, her large belly obvious. "How nice to see you! And you look so happy!"

"Well, in a way, I am," Ellie confessed. "We figured out my due date and it's almost time for me to deliver. I'm coming to stay with you so that things go like they're supposed to and afterwards, I leave alone!"

"Well, you're not just going to leave immediately after," Lucifer replied, the tone in his voice reasonable. "You'll need a few days to recover, I suppose."

"Yeah, especially if the kids burst out of my stomach like that _Alien_ movie," Ellie agreed and grabbed his arm. "That's not what happens, is it?"

"How should I know?" Lucifer frowned. "These are my first children."

Ellie sighed and sat down, trying to get relief for her sore back. "I suppose I'm being over dramatic. I mean, Mom didn't explode when she had Hannah. But her father is a demon and you're the devil so that's different. Just trying to figure out what you got me into."

"As are we all," Lucifer sighed.

"So you regret it now?" Ellie questioned. "You regret what you did to me?"

"I regret that it caused you distress," Lucifer replied. "I regret that I didn't hold my temper and wait for this to happen until we knew what to expect and were on better terms. But it is what it is now, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "It is."

"Are you serious when you say you actually mean to stay until the children are born?" Lucifer asked.

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "Look at me; It can't be too long now. And like I said, I don't want you to evade your responsibilities."

"Oh, I haven't," Lucifer shook his head. "I have their room all made up. Would you like to see it?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "No, thank you. Not having any emotional attachment to them, remember?"

"Come on, Eleanor," Lucifer urged with a chuckle. "It's just having a look in the room. It's not like I'm gonna lure you in there and lock the door so you can't get out."

"Well, how specific," Ellie shot back. "I'm _definitely_ not going in there now." She strode off in search of Dexter. She knew she could trust _him._

Lucifer knew where Dexter was, so he went with her, much to her annoyance.

"Do you have to walk so close?" She snapped. "Your cologne is too strong and it's making me woozy!"

"Well, if you faint, know I'll be ready to catch you," Lucifer responded cheekily.

"Oh, fuck off!" Ellie responded and began walking a little faster.

"I think that was uncalled for," He told her.

"Do you?" Ellie remarked, although she didn't turn to look at him. "Cause I don't." She snapped her fingers and disappeared to another part of the house, finally finding Dexter on her own.

* * *

"Ellie!" He cried, being less formal for the first time, and hugged her as well as he could. "I can guess what brings you here."

She nodded. "You'd be right," she told him. "I just...I just want to make sure nothing goes wrong, so I'm gonna stay here. But only until I've given birth and recovered, you understand."

"Yes, I do," Dexter sighed. "I'm sorry about this whole mess, but I'm glad it means I get to see you again, if only for a little while."

"It doesn't have to end for you and I after I leave," Ellie told him. "We can go bowling or have lunch or something."

"I'm a demon, remember?" Dexter chuckled, although he was deeply touched by her offer. "Where would we go?"

Ellie shrugged. "I don't know off the top of my head. It might take some looking, but I'm willing to find a place if you are."

"Sure," Dexter nodded. "I would like that." He paused. "Now, what do you say we find you somewhere to sleep?"

"That would be nice," Ellie agreed and followed him out of the room and down the winding hallways as he opened door after door, rejecting each space as not grand enough for her.

"It really doesn't have to be a fancy room," Ellie told him after this went on for some time. "I really _could_ sleep anywhere."

"Oh, I know that," Dexter told her. "But that doesn't mean you should have to." He paused and opened one more door. "Ah, here we are! This is perfect!"

The room was surprisingly feminine in appearance with a light blue and white scheme instead of the usual red and black, and large furniture, including a canopy bed, filling the room.

"Dexter, this room wasn't made specifically for my use, was it?" Ellie questioned. "You just found it like this?"

He turned and gave her a sheepish glance. "I-I did make it for you, but don't worry. I always knew that you had no intention of staying forever and I respect that. But that doesn't mean you can't be comfortable while you convalesce, right? And I promise that the boss has no idea that this is your room and I won't tell him until you feel it's absolutely necessary. That's my promise to you."

"All right, I accept," Ellie nodded. "Thank you, Dexter. it really is a _beautiful_ room."

"I'm glad you think so," Dexter beamed. "That's what I hoped you would say."

* * *

"So...Ellie's pregnant by the devil..." Junior got out as Josh and Sarah nodded and Josh clutched Hannah tighter. They had just gotten the message from Ellie that she would be staying with Lucifer and Dexter until the twins' birth and they decided that Junior should know too.

"Well, how could I not know that?" Junior scoffed. "She never once mentioned it to me when we were visiting together and you _know_ how often she's come over lately."

"Maybe she sees your place as the spot where she doesn't have to deal with a bunch of extra baggage," Sarah sighed. "Maybe that's why she decided to leave it at the door."

"And you both are okay with this?" Junior questioned. "Why are you so calm?"

"Oh, we're angry," Josh assured him. "We're just waiting to express it until a more appropriate time, which has not happened yet."

"Do you think it will kill her?" Junior questioned. "Having the kids, I mean?"

Sarah reached out and took his hand. "I don't know," she said. "It's something we're trying not to think about, but it's a possibility."

"Well, if worse comes to worse, I'm here for both of you," Junior told them. "You know that, right?"

He and Josh stared at each other and then Junior finally hugged him, just briefly after handing Hannah to Sarah. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Junior replied, his cheeks flushed. "Where is she now, do you know? Where's the house? Do you think we could go over there?"

"The house isn't far away," Sarah said. "Just down the street. Ver large and showy. You couldn't miss it if you wanted to. But I don't know if you should go there."

"Why not?" Josh questioned. "Don't we have the right to make sure that Ellie will be all right?"

"Well, of course you do," Sarah nodded. "But this is a very emotionally charged situation and I don't want either of you to say something in the heat of anger that will get you killed. You know how much that would hurt Ellie. And me too! And Hannah, if it's you, Josh. There's too much at stake for you to just go barreling in there without thinking."

"You're right," Josh conceded. "What should we do instead? Any ideas? How do we get in there without trouble?"

Sarah put Hannah in her nearby carrier and pulled out her phone. "I think that should be easy enough," she remarked. "All we have to do is call Ellie and ask her if she can let us in for a little bit. I'll do it. I don't think it'll be a problem."

* * *

As Sarah had surmised, it wasn't hard to get hold of Ellie, who seemed very pleased to hear from them and let them come for a brief visit, meaning that soon, her parents were all standing on Lucifer's doorstep.

"Remember, we're being calm," Sarah reminded Junior and Josh. "No starting unnecessary trouble. We don't want to get thrown out and banned."

"Do you really think that would happen?" Josh asked. "I don't think it would."

"I'm not sure," Sarah shook her head. "But I don't want to take any chances."

Dexter opened the door and smiled at them. "Come on," he told them warmly. "Miss Ellie has been looking forward to seeing you for days. She hasn't stopped talking about it ever since you called."

"We're not gonna run into the boss, are we, Dexter?" Josh asked.

"Oh, no," Dexter shook his head. "No need to worry about that. I suggested that he go to his office and start to figure out just how he's gonna run the government, so he's gone. You'll be able to talk to Miss Ellie in peace."

"Wow, Dexter," Josh grinned. "That's genius!"

Dexter inclined his head and grinned. "Thanks," he said. "I live to serve."

"Where is Ellie now?" Sarah questioned.

"She's in her room," Dexter said and led them there. "She's big enough that moving any distance is difficult for her. But the good news is that she won't be like that for much longer."

"Do you think giving birth will kill her? Be honest with us, please," Josh said.

"Oh, she'll be fine," Dexter promised. "We'll make sure of that."

"Good," Josh and Junior both said at once and let out their breaths. And when Dexter opened the door to Ellie's room and she waved cheerily at them from the bed, they both tried to squeeze into the room at the same time.

"Hi, you guys!" She grinned. "Sorry I can't run over and hug you, but moving's a bit difficult at the moment. I'm huge, see."

"You seem well too," Sarah remarked. "That's good. Do you feel good?"

"As good as can be expected, considering that I could very well be just days away from delievering the devil's children."

"And whatever you decide to do after, we'll support you," Sarah assured her. "I hope you know that."

"Oh, you don't have to worry," Ellie told her. "I know this might kind of sound cold, but...given how they were conceived, I just...I don't think I want anything to do with them. I'm not ready to be a parent. I want to live a little first. So Lucifer's going to take them, I'm going to be free from all this, and that's that."

"Well...I'm glad you have a plan in place that you're happy with," Josh told her. "That's good."

"How long can you stay?" Ellie asked. "Do you have to rush home to watch Hannah?"

"No, we left her with your grandparents, so we can be here for as long as you'd like," Sarah smiled. "Is that good?"

"Yeah," Ellie smiled at all of them. "It's very good. Thank you."

* * *

"Help!" Ellie cried the next night. Just as she was getting into bed, she was hit with a sudden, crippling pain, as if something were eating her from the inside. "Dexter, Lucifer, _help_!"

Spots began dancing in front of her eyes and she gritted her teeth to try and stay upright through the pain, reaching the button by her bedside that would alert Lucifer, Dexter, and everyone else in the house that the babies were coming, and pressing it just before she passed out on the rug next to her bed.

By the time the cavalry arrived and got Ellie off the floor, she was convulsing, but mercifully, still unconscious.

"This is horrible!" Lucifer cried. "I hope she's gonna live! Maybe killing my lovers after our encounters is more of a mercy than I realized."

"She's gonna live through this," Dexter promised. "She won't die. You know you can fix this, so _do_ something!"

Lucifer placed his hands on her belly, and although it didn't wake her, it at least seemed to calm her body down.

"Do we just wait now?" Lucifer questioned. "She seems better."

"I don't think we should take any chances," Dexter replied. "We need to get them out of her now!"

"You mean you're gonna cut her open?" Lucifer asked. He really hated the idea of her being all marked up.

"What else would you suggest?" Dexter demanded. "She's unconscious! She can't deliver on her own!"

Lucifer finally got a grip on himself and together, he and Dexter finally delivered the babies, cleaned them up, and gave them to other demons so they could be settled in their room before healing Ellie up and bringing her back to her senses, grateful that she'd not sensed a thing. In the end, that had been a great mercy.

* * *

"Am I dead?" Ellie opened one eye and saw both Lucifer and Dexter smiling back at her. "Am I dead, am I damned, did I make it? What happened?"

"You did it," Lucifer nodded and took her hand to kiss it. There was a shine in his eyes that could have been tears, but she wasn't sure. "The children are born. They're fine and strong and healthy."

"They are," Dexter agreed. "Are you sure you don't want to see them, Miss Ellie?"

They helped her sit up as she thought about this.

"Yes, I'm sure," she said in a muted voice. "I-I can't do it. Not yet. Maybe I might, some day. I probably don't deserve to ask this, but...when you tell them about me...say something nice, all right? Please?"

"Of course," Dexter nodded. "You stay here and rest for a few days and then we'll let you go, all right? You don't have to come back or anything like that, if that's not what you want."

"But thank you for this," Lucifer told her.

"If you've killed all the other women who could have borne you children, are you sure you want to thank me?"

"Yes," Lucifer told her. "I'm ready for these two. I've already chosen names for them: Vincent and Valerie."

"I told him not to give them names with the same letter," Dexter shrugged. "But he seems to like it."

"I do too," Ellie gave Lucifer a small smile as he threaded his fingers through her hair.

"May I kiss you?" He asked, hesitating.

Ellie thought a moment, then took a deep breath. "No," she shook her head. "But thank you for asking."

"Would it surprise you if I do it anyway?" Lucifer said. "I just...I need to thank you some way for doing this for me. I can never thank you enough, no matter what I do."

"No," Ellie agreed. "No, you can't." She paused. "Now tell me what happened. All I remember is being in a lot of pain before going to bed and now you're telling me that the babies are born?"

"Yeah, they are," Lucifer nodded. "They really did a number on you. You were unconscious through the whole delivery. We would have woken you, but we figured that given your feelings about this whole thing, not remembering it was probably for the best."

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "Good instincts." She sighed. "So...how long do you think I'll need to rest here?"

"Well, how do you feel?" Dexter questioned.

"Not good," Ellie shook her head. "Kind of sick. I think I need to throw up! Get a bucket!"

So Dexter did, just in time. "Better?" He asked after."

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "I thought I would be able to get up and leave, but...now I think it might not be a good idea to go so soon."

"Well, you can stay as long as you'd like," Lucifer told her. "And while you're here, I promise I'll stay away. Scout's honor."

"Thank you," Ellie told him, falling back on the pillow and closing her eyes. "I appreciate that."

"You're welcome," Lucifer told her before leaving to go check on his children. "Goodbye, Eleanor."

"Goodbye, Lucifer," she got out, saying those words for what she hoped was the very last time.


	24. Everything Catches Up With You

"Well, look at this," Lucifer remarked when he caught Ellie leaving early in the morning. "You were gonna just sneak out without any warning, weren't you, Eleanor? Did you hope I wouldn't notice? You're just too afraid to face me, aren't you? You should at least say 'Goodbye'."

Then she turned to face him as the lights came on. He was a mess, his shirt covered in spit-up, dark circles under his eyes hair adorably (she'd admit it only to herself, but she had to admit it) tousled.

"What the hell happened to you?" She asked, wincing. "You look awful!"

"Well, I _am_ caring for our two children because you just don't feel like it right now," he reminded her. "Remember that. Now that you've seen, you can go on your little merry way and forget all about it."

"Good," Ellie nodded. "Thanks, I will." She put her hand on the doorknob and froze as he started talking again.

"And you leaving is probably for the best, anyway," Lucifer continued. "You'd probably make a horrible mother. The children deserve better, living with someone who cares while their mother gets engaged to some overgrown boy scout who gets her a house with a white picket fence and a dog."

"That sounds nice!" Ellie spat and turned the knob. "I'd like that very much!"

Then she let out a cry of protest as Lucifer came up behind her, gently lifted her away from the door, and turned her to face him as he put her back down on her feet. "You're about to leave me forever, and I know you're not coming back," he said, his face so close to hers that their breath mingled and their lips practically touched. "So I just have to do one more thing before we part. Then I can live out my days a happy man."

"Oh, yeah?" Eleanor asked. That cologne was filling her nostrils again. Who the hell wore cologne to bed? "What do you want? Can I guess?"

"Just one kiss, Eleanor," he urged. "Please?"

"How can you ask me for that?" Ellie questioned. "You're just gonna put your paws all over me and use it as a way to take advantage again!"

"No, I won't," Lucifer promised, locking eyes with her and not blinking. "I swear. Hands will stay on waist and not wander about."

"Oh fine," Ellie sighed. "As long as I'm leaving...what the hell?"

True to his word, Lucifer kept his hands on Ellie's waist and didn't move them. He didn't even pull her close against his body. The kiss itself was short (as far as his kisses went) and sweet, but lasted long enough that warmth spread through Ellie's body, all the way down to her toes, and she was even a little bummed when it was interrupted by the sound of a baby's cry from upstairs.

"Sorry about that," Lucifer apologized. "I have to go attend to business. Goodbye."

"Bye," Ellie replied, opening the door and throwing herself out of the house so that she wouldn't have to hear the crying anymore. The urge to go and comfort the child was strong and as the door slammed and the crying was muffled, Ellie took a deep breath and walked to the driveway, pausing a moment to get her head together before striding home and trying to forget all of it. She could move on now. It was okay. That was the important thing.

* * *

"Ellie Bean, when did you get back?" Sarah asked when she found her daughter lying on the living room sofa and staring at the TV, even though it was off, all efforts to quash the burgeoning feelings for her child failing miserably cause she couldn't get the sound of crying out of her mind. "You didn't have to come home alone. I would have picked you up and walked home with you."

"I needed some time to think," Ellie told her. "To tell myself I'm doing the right thing. I was so sure at first, but then the twins were born and now I'm just _not_ sure."

"Why aren't you sure?" Sarah questioned and put her arms around her daughter.

"Well, I mean, think about how I grew up," Ellie reminded her. "You were so selfless, and clearly Junior leaving caused hardship for you. Now I'm doing the same thing to my own babies...that makes me terrible, doesn't it? Maybe I should just go back!"

"No, don't!" Sarah told her firmly. "Not if you're not ready. I was ready for you. I was prepared. But if you're just going because you think you should and not because you're truly ready to be a parent, then you're doing your kids more of a favor by staying away. Trust me. There is nothing for you to feel guilty about, I promise."

"All right," Ellie nodded before turning her head and sobbing in her mother's shoulder.

Sarah didn't know what else to say, so she just held onto her and rubbed her back until her crying calmed down. "What would help you feel better?" She asked. "What can I do? Do you want me to take you to your dad's house? Do you just want to be left alone here? Maybe spending time with Hannah might help? I don't know. I'm just tossing out possibilities here."

"I'll stay with Hannah," Ellie decided. "She's a quiet baby, right? I haven't heard a peep out of her."

"Yeah, she's really low maintenance," Sarah agreed. "How about your dad and I go out to dinner and you can have a few hours alone with your sister. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded, letting Sarah go and sitting up on the sofa. "Sounds great."

Then she left after kissing Ellie's hair and Ellie realized that being alone with basically no distractions meant she would have to try not to think of two thoughts: one, how strong the emotional pull of that baby's cry had been, and two, how much she'd liked Lucifer's kissing when he'd actually asked permission and behaved himself relatively well.

* * *

"Look at who just came into the restaurant?" Josh remarked. He had been more than happy to go out to dinner with Sarah while Ellie babysat Hannah to help deal with her grief about her children and be somewhat prepared when she was finally able to go back to them.

"Who came?" Sarah whispered and reached for the bread and tore off a piece with her teeth. "Is it someone famous?"

"No, it's... _Lucifer_ ," Josh hissed. "Who does he think he is just strolling into a place where decent people are trying to have a nice evening?"

"And if you don't mind, I'd like to keep it that way," Sarah said firmly and tugged on his arm as he started to rise, a look of indignation on his face that meant he was planning on starting trouble. "Sit down and don't cause trouble like I really believe that you're going to."

"But look at how he's sitting there!" Josh gesticulated wildly. "With his napkin and his wine glass! He got a bottle of Zinfandel and I just want to pour it all over him!"

"Don't do it," Sarah begged. "Please don't. You're gonna get us thrown out."

"No, I won't," Josh replied and got up, strolling over to Lucifer. "Would you come with me to the bathroom so I can punch you in the face and not get thrown out before Sarah and I finish dinner, please? It'll just take a few seconds and I really, _really_ need to do it."

"Because you're angry about Eleanor," Lucifer nodded. "I understand. I suppose I had this coming, so like you say, let's head somewhere private and get it over with."

"Really?" Josh asked in surprise. "Are you serious?"

"Of course," Lucifer nodded. "You're really going to do it, right? You're not just backing out now?"

"No, I still want to punch you in the face," Josh assured him. "I'm just pleased you're being so agreeable. I thought there would be more of a fight."

"Well, I'm not really in a fighting mood these days," Lucifer told him. "Not about anything that has to do with Eleanor at any rate. I know that I went wrong with her and the only way to start fixing that is to take whatever anger is thrown at me. So let's get to it."

"All right," Josh nodded. "Let's."

So they went to the bathroom, shooed everyone out, and locked the door and Lucifer just stood there and did nothing as Josh delievered three solid blows to his face that he would surely feel later, along with one to his crotch

"There," he said after the crotch hit made him face plant on the tile floor. "Are you done? Do you feel better?"

"Yes," Josh nodded. "It's a start, anyway. I'm done. You can go enjoy your dinner while I enjoy mine."

"Thank you," Lucifer replied, even though he knew it would be a while before he got off the floor. "Would you do me a favor?"

"Depends what it is," Josh told him.

"Would you get Dexter in here to help me back to my table?" Lucifer requested. "I'm having a little trouble getting up on my own."

"Sure," Josh grinned at him. "I would be glad to."

* * *

"Well, that was an interesting evening," Dexter remarked as he sat in the driver's seat and started the car after Lucifer spread out in back, still wincing. "Something much more lively than I've had lately, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes," Lucifer agreed. " And aren't you proud of me for not retaliating when Josh punched me and kicked me? I could have killed him easily and I didn't."

"Yes," Dexter scoffed. "Now if only you'd shown the same restraint with Miss Ellie and not opened your mouth to say what you did, I would be even prouder."

"Oh, come on, Dexter!" Lucifer protested. "I could have said anything half-way decent and she still wouldn't have stayed. She was determined to go!"

"Yes, but if she'd left on a good note, she'd probably come back sooner!" Dexter pointed out. "Don't you know that? Don't you want her to come back at all?"

"Of course I do!" Lucifer replied, realizing that Dexter had no idea about the kiss he and Ellie had shared before she'd left. "Do you really think I can raise children? Even with your help you know I'm struggling. The only way they won't be messed up for life is if Eleanor comes back and helps."

Dexter sighed. "That's not entirely true," he said. "You can do it. It's only been a few days. Give yourself a break. Have-"

"If you say 'have faith', I am going to hurt you," Lucifer interrupted. "Cause fat lot of good that's done me over the years."

"I wasn't going to say that," Dexter promised. "Why would I? Now, do you want to head straight home? It's still early. We could go catch a movie."

"No, let's go home," Lucifer sighed. "I stay away any longer, something will go horribly wrong, and it will invariably come to bite me in the ass."

"All right," Dexter nodded. "Home it is."

* * *

When they got home and got inside, they were met by the demons who had been watching the twins all night.

"Be quiet," said one. "We finally got them to sleep, and we don't want to wake them up."

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "We sure don't." So he tiptoed into the twins' room and smiled as he looked over his slumbering babies. "Just be patient," he whispered. "Your mother will be here soon. I know she's thinking about you. And that even if it's very deep down, she loves you very much."

That made Valerie open her eyes.

"Oh, dear," Lucifer sighed and picked her up. "You're supposed to be sleeping," he told her. Don't open your eyes. Sleep! Why can't you enjoy shut eye like your brother?"

But all the same, he enjoyed sitting up with her. It made him feel not so lonely, and that...that was a good feeling.

* * *

As the cries of the twin still haunted her, Ellie was not surprised to dream about them. Yelling and screaming and terror. Red eyes and sharp teeth under a heart-covered baby blanket.

And when real tears made her bolt up in bed, panting and frightened, she wasn't sure whether it was all a dream or if it was real. All that she knew was that she had to make the crying stop. She had to make it stop if she wanted to get some sleep.

Ellie got out of bed and automatically made her way toward Hannah's room, not seeing, not thinking, and muttering under her breath, "Gotta make it stop, gotta make it stop..." It didn't even register that the closer she got to Hannah's room, the quieter the crying was because Sarah and Josh had moved Hanna to their room for a little while.

All Ellie saw when she looked Hannah's crib was a shrieking baby, illuminated by moonlight streamed in from the open window. "Stop!" She yelled and grabbed it, ripping off its head quite easily."Stop crying!" Then it stopped. She froze, looking down in the crib. The baby was dead! Her head was not on her body! How would she explain it to her mother?

Tears welled into her eyes as she sank to her knees and hit the floor repeatedly, not feeling her mother's arms around her, or hearing Sarah's voice in her ear.

"Ellie! Ellie Bean, what's the matter?"

"I just wanted the crying to stop!" Ellie sobbed. "I didn't mean to kill her! I'm sorry...I'm sorry..."

"What?" Sarah asked, her eyes widening. "Kill who, Eleanor?"

"Hannah!" Ellie cried. "She's in her crib and she's dead! I tore her head off!"

Sarah looked into the crib and picked up the headless bear that rested on the pillow. "Honey, it was just a teddy bear, see? Hannah is fine. She's sleeping with your daddy and me. I promise you didn't kill her. That was all a bad dream. But you're home and you're safe now." She put her arms around her shaking daughter, who was still muttering apologies under her breath.

"What happened?" Josh asked a few minutes later, looking both concerned and very frightened. "Is everything okay?"

"Ellie had a nightmare that made her think she killed Hannah," Sarah explained. "I guess everything she went through in hell is starting to catch up with her."

"Yeah, I guess," Josh nodded. "Maybe it would be best if we sent her to live somewhere else for awhile. With Junior? Or your parents, maybe?"

"I want to go to Dad's," Ellie said. "Let's go now, please. I can't sleep here anymore."

"All right," Sarah agreed and went to get dressed. "We'll go see Junior. It'll be all right, Ellie Bean. Everything will be all right soon."


	25. Playing With New Rules

"Why are there a bunch of bags by door?" Lily asked when she came in to get some things. It had taken a lot of nightly talks, frustration, and fighting, but Elijah had finally agreed, in light of the fact that their baby was coming soon, to let Lily move in with Arthur, Selina, and Dorian. "Dad, why won't you answer me?" Then her eyes widened and she grinned. "Mom is in labor!"

"Sorry," Elijah looked up from his pocket watch. "Your mother is in labor at the moment and I'm timing her contractions while she watches TV until it's the optimum time for us to leave for the hospital."

Lily then saw her mother eating apple slices slathered in caramel as she watched an old episode of Masterpiece Theater." Then a contraction happened and as she cried out, some apple got caught in her throat. Lily quickly helped her stop choking and Elijah remarked, "Okay, time to go. Lily, would you grab the bags please, dear?"

"Sure," Lily nodded. "But I have to call Arthur and tell him I'm coming with you."

* * *

She did it after all the bags had been put in the car and they were on the road.

"My god," Arthur told her when he heard all the screaming. "What's going on there? Is that just your mother?"

"Yes," Lily assured him. "I'm fine, trust me."

"Good," Arthur said. "I was beginning to get nervous."

Because Amy and Elijah had painstakingly plotted out the quickest way to get to the hospital, they got there in a matter of time, and Amy was whisked to a hospital room.

As Amy rested and Elijah and Lily stood waiting, he said, "You don't have to stay here if you don't want to, Lily. I know you just came to the house to get a few things, and then you were going to head back to Arthur. You can go. We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Lily crossed her arms. "Cause I wouldn't feel right just leaving you."

"We'll manage," Elijah told her. "You've done much more than you need to and we appreciate it. Go and enjoy yourself."

"All right," Lily nodded at last and headed for the door. "Just tell me when Lisa gets here and I'll be over to visit whenever you're ready." Then she paused, hand on doorknob, as her mother let out a cry.

"Good luck, Mom," she told her when it was over and then gently kissed Amy's forehead. "You're gonna do great, I know it."

"Well, here's hoping," Amy gritted her teeth. "At least it's not the first time I've done it."

"You want me to make phone calls to anyone else?" Lily questioned. "Let the army of redheaded lovelies know?"

"Yes, would you do that?" Amy nodded. "Tell them that they don't have to come rushing over here, but that if they're looking for me, this is where I am?"

"Got it," Lily nodded. "Will do! No problem!"

* * *

"I can't believe your parents are having a baby," Arthur shuddered. "It's kind of gross."

"No, it's not!" Lily shook her head. "I think it's a good thing! Mom miscarried before she and Dad adopted me, you know."

"She did?" Arthur questioned."Well, that's sad. It really _is_ a good thing, then."

Then Lily gently nudged him in the ribs. "You think you'll have any siblings soon with all the extra time your parents have on their hands now?"

"Probably," Arthur nodded. "If that's what they tell me, I won't be surprised. But as you know, it's not something I usually think about."

"Yeah," Lily nodded, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. "I understand." She then rested her head on his shoulder as they then lapsed into silence and watched TV. She had told him that she wanted to stay home so that when she got the call from her father, she could just rush to the hospital without wasting extra driving time and to his credit, he'd been okay with that, even though, as he pointed out, no matter where they were, she could have zapped herself to the hospital in no time at all."

"That's a good point," she said. "But still...thanks for agreeing to stay home anyway."

"You're welcome," Arthur kissed her hair. "As long as I'm with you, I don't care where we are."

* * *

It took much longer than either of them expected, but as night fell, they finally got the call from Elijah that her little sister had arrived.

"We thought she was going to come right away," he said. "But it took more time than expected. Your mother handled it beautifully, though."

"I'm sure she did," Lily replied. "Are you happy?"

"Well, of course!" Elijah agreed. "But don't think this means we'll just forget about you."

"I know that," Lily assured him. "Don't worry. You want me to come over there and sit with her so you can go home for a few hours and shower and stuff? I'd be glad to."

"Thanks," Elijah told her. "I really appreciate it."

She got off the phone and said, "Arthur, I'm gonna go take up Mom-watching duty at the hospital while Dad goes home and showers. You can stay here. I don't expect you to come with me."

"Sure I will," Arthur nodded. "I'll get us some food and we'll all hang out together. It's not a problem." He grinned and Lily smiled back.

"I love you, you know," she said.

"I love you too," Arthur replied. "That should go without saying."

* * *

Lily zapped herself to the hospital while Arthur took his car to go get food.

"Was it hard?" She asked when she saw her mother, who looked exhausted.

"Well, not horribly," Amy said. "It wasn't a difficult delivery, but it wasn't fun either."

"I bet," Lily nodded and sat down on Amy's bed. "So...Lisa came out all right?"

"Yep," Amy nodded. "Eight pounds, five ounces. And healthy. She's in the nursery now, if you want to see her."

"You think she'll be red-headed too?" Lily questioned.

"Wouldn't it be fun if she was?" Amy grinned and reached out to squeeze Lily's hand. "When I was married to your uncle, I was always greatly amused by the fact that he was the only one in our whole family who was not a red-head."

"But of course, if she looks more like Dad, that's cool too."

"Naturally," Amy nodded. "Why don't you go have a look at her?"

"All right," Lily nodded. "I will. Are you going to be all right by yourself?"

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "I'm just gonna try and sleep a little. I'll be fine."

So Lily put a note on her bedside table for Arthur in case he came with the food while she was gone and then headed to the nursery where, right in front of the window, was a baby wrapped in pink with the name Lisa Mikaelson on her bassinet.

"Hi," Lily said, even though she knew the baby couldn't answer. "Hi, Lisa. I'm Lily, your sister. Welcome to the family." She then stared into the nursery window until she felt a tap on her shoulder and heard Arthur's voice telling her it was time to go and eat.

* * *

After the horror of her dream, Ellie made a very quick adjustment to living with Junior that she was very glad for. The first morning after she moved in with him, she left to go on a jog and was approached by the young man who lived next door. He had dark, tousled hair worn slightly long, and sparkling brown eyes.

He wore a gray hoodie and dark jeans and quickly caught up to her because his legs were longer than hers. "Hi," he greeted her. "I'm not a creeper, I promise. I just...I live in that bright yellow house next to the one you came out of. I jog every day. It'd be nice to have a jogging buddy."

Ellie paused. "I'm Ellie," she told him after she decided that his smile was nice and he seemed friendly. "I just moved in with my dad. I just started this jogging thing and I'd _love_ a jogging buddy." She reached out for his hand. "What's your name?"

"I'm Brad," he said and took her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ellie."

"Nice to meet you too," Ellie replied with a smile as they continued jogging. "It's just so nice to meet a normal guy that I can talk to."

"Why?" Brad asked. "Are you used to not normal ones?"

"Oh, you know it," Ellie rolled her eyes. "The last guy I was involved with...he was kind of a nut. He was the devil."

"That bad, huh?" Brad said. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Ellie replied. "It's not like it's your fault. And don't let me being with you throw off your jogging routine. If you do anything else after you jog, go ahead and do it."

"Well, I usually jog to this nice little coffee place about a mile from here," Brad told her. "You think you can hold out that long and have a cup with me? We can rest all you need to."

"Sounds good," Ellie nodded. "I'm just getting used to having coffee again after a while of not having it and let me tell you: I missed it!"

"You like cinnamon rolls? They have really good ones that we could split," Brad ginned. He had very nice white teeth."

"Sure!" Ellie nodded with a smile of her own. "You just come up with one good idea after the other, don't you?"

* * *

"Well, here it is," Brad announced when they finally reached the diner. Ellie was panting and tired, but still standing upright. "Ready to sit down now?"

"Yes," she got out. "Please."

So she scouted out a booth for them and asked Brad to order her the biggest Mocha they had while she caught her breath.

When he returned and she took her coffee, he said, "Thanks for coming with me. It's nice to not eat by myself for once."

"I like the company too," Ellie nodded. "We should keep doing this."

"I agree," Brad replied. He paused. "I know it's none of my business, but...you _were_ being metaphorical when you said your last boyfriend was the devil, right?"

"Um...of course!" Ellie nodded. "He was a nightmare, anyway. He moved into a house down the street from my parents', which is why I moved in with my dad: to get the hell away from him. Not that that'll stop him from trying to look in on me from time to time."

"He sounds horrible," Brad remarked.

Ellie sighed. "He's really put me through the wringer," she confessed. "I just...I need time away from him to clear my head."

"Yeah, I bet you do," Brad nodded. "Now, let's talk about something else."

"Thank you," Ellie replied and took half the cinnamon roll on her plate. "Favorite movie?"

" _Jaws"_ , Brad smiled. "You?"

"Beauty and the Beast," Ellie smiled. "It gets me every time."

That led to more questions and laughter and even though it was for just a couple of hours, Ellie blessedly forgot about Lucifer, although she was sure he'd never be willing to do the same about her.

* * *

Lucifer decided to take a break from the twins and went out to get the morning paper in his bathrobe and slippers. He picked it up, took it inside, zapped some clothes on, and went for a walk, using magic to do his walk near where Ellie was so he could check on her.

And unluckily for him, just as he appeared, two people bumped into him on the sidewalk. They mumbled brief apologies without looking at him, but he got a look at the girl before they got away. It was Ellie! And her jogging friend had his arm around her waist!

He zapped himself home and snatched the paper out of Dexter's hand.

"Hey!" Dexter complained. "I was reading that!"

"I saw Eleanor with a boy!" Lucifer cried. They were walking and she was wearing really snug workout clothes!" He then brought his fist down on the table. "And he had his hand around her waist! If I were at home, there would be a special room in it for him..." He growled. "He put his paws all over my Eleanor."

"Since when is she yours?" Dexter smirked.

"Always, of course!" Lucifer scoffed. "Haven't you paid attention to anything at all lately? I think I'm going to take up jogging myself. Exercise is good."

"You don't jog," Dexter said. "It was one of the things you created to torture people, remember?"

"Yes, well...Eleanor likes it," Lucifer said. "It'll be a good way for us to bond. And you might want to take it up too. Either that or stop eating those giant cinnamon rolls and switch to fruit."

Dexter paused, his cheeks bulging with the food, and then went to the trash to spit it out. "What are you doing to do now?" He asked. "How are you even going to get her to talk to you?"

"Easy," Lucifer told him. "I will be honest. I will give her time to prepare herself. I won't just show up on her doorstep. I'll be a gentleman. In my own way, of course. Surely she won't object to a little friendly conversation."

"She might," Dexter told him. "Don't underestimate how angry you made her."

"What happened to having faith, Dexter?" Lucifer rose to his feet. "You were all about it before and now you're just being very negative. I don't think i like that."

"Well, okay. Good luck," Dexter said and went back to his paper.

"Thank you," Lucifer replied, going to write Ellie a note asking her to meet him at some place she was familiar with. He would do it in the twins' room so he could watch them at the same time. He was getting really good at this multi-tasking thing, even though, at times, parenting was still as hard as ever.

* * *

"Why did you want me to meet you here?" Ellie sighed when she met Lucifer at the coffee shop where she and Brad usually ended their run. "I have a jog to go on and I don't want to be late. I do it with someone."

"Oh, I know all about him," Lucifer told her. "How you wear those tight little shorts and let him put his hands all over you. The jogging' s just a starting point and soon, you're going to move on to different exercise, right?"

"No!" Ellie made a face. "Of course not! At least not right now, anyway. I told him, in a way, about my past, and he agreed to make things go slow. I like him and you have no right to make me feel bad about that, children or no children!"

"I am not trying to make you feel bad," Lucifer told her. "If you want to be with someone inferior, that's more your problem than mine, isn't it?"

"Yes," Ellie agreed. "Your big, giant problem. And you know, you could go find some girl at strip club to date or something. They'd be more suitable for your particular charms, don't you think?"

"So sweet you don't want me having lonely nights while you struggle with your decision to come back to me," Lucifer responded.

"Well, you're right about me wanting you not to be lonely," Ellie agreed and got up. "But as for the rest of it, I'm fine with how things are, thanks."

Lucifer sighed. This was not going how he wanted it to and it was beginning to irritate him. He opened his mouth, but Ellie headed him off.

"Don't even think about torturing Brad to try and get me to do what you want, because that's what's going to get you into even more trouble!"

"You don't understand!" Lucifer protested. "I've changed my plan of attack! I'm no longer going to be hurting others or you to try and get your attention and your favors. I've decided to be patient!"

"Oh, this is the best show of patience in the world," Ellie scoffed. "It sure is!"

"Well, am I trying to take you home with me?" Lucifer questioned. "Or are we just having a nice and civil chat where _you're_ the hostile one? Answer that, Eleanor? Give me credit where credit is due!"

"Fine," Ellie sighed. "Thank you for not luring me here to kidnap me. That's very big of you. But I still think I have good reason to worry about what you might do to Brad just because we're close now."

"What could I do?" Lucifer questioned. "I'm not at home. I don't have my instruments of torture. Besides, I'm running the demon government. I have better things to do with my time than petty stuff like torture your gentleman friends."

"Yeah, you do," Ellie agreed. "But that probably wouldn't stop you if you wanted to torture any and all male friends I make."

Lucifer sighed. This wasn't getting him anywhere. "The twins are thriving," he said, changing the subject.

"Good," Ellie nodded. "I'm glad that you're taking good care of them." She paused. "Do they look like people, or...like monsters?"

"People," Lucifer replied. "Except when they're having crying fits, but those don't last forever."

"Good," Ellie nodded. "And how's Dexter?"

"He's good too," Lucifer replied. "I encouraged him to take up jogging as well. I thought it might be good since he likes cinnamon rolls now."

"I think it would be nice for the two of you to do something together," Ellie nodded. "You owe him some positive attention for all you've put him through. You treat him almost as badly as you treated me!"

"All right, I will be nicer to Dexter," Lucifer promised. "I'll jog with him. Maybe when we're doing it, we'll run into you and Brad!"

"As long as you behave yourself when that happens, it could be nice," Ellie remarked. "Now, speaking of Brad, I have to go meet him. Bye!"

"Bye," Lucifer called, not taking his eyes off her as she walked away. "Goodbye, sweet Eleanor."

* * *

When he got back to the house, he told Dexter, "Eleanor wants me to date. What do you think about that?"

"I think it could be a good thing," Dexter nodded. "Get you out of the house, meeting new people."

"And if..." a light suddenly came into Lucifer's eyes. "If Eleanor sees me with other people, she might get jealous! She might get jealous and then she'll be begging to come back to me! Dexter, it's brilliant!" He grinned.

"Well, that isn't the best reason to do it, but...whatever works for you," Dexter told him. "There's a club down the street. I'm sure you could find the sort of woman you're looking for there."

"No need to give me suggestions, Dexter," Lucifer grinned. "I know _exactly_ where to find the sort of woman I'm looking for."


	26. Finding Solace In Family

"Enjoy this place, Dexter," Lucifer grinned as he and the demon strode into the club down the street. Even though it was early in the morning, the place was still busy, and Dexter was left to sit alone at a table as Lucifer was quickly flanked by beautiful, scantily dressed women offering to ply him with alcohol.

"I think I'll take you up on that, ladies," he agreed. "It's been a while since I've had a good drink."

But much to his own surprise (and Dexter's), he stopped after two drinks. Definitely not normal behavior for him.

He then gave one of the girls money for a lap dance, but pushed her off after a few seconds, not enjoying it as much as he thought.

"Are you all right?" The young woman asked, stroking his face with a manicured hand. "You don't look well."

"I'll be fine," Lucifer replied. "I just...I just need some air."

"Would you like me to come with you?" She asked.

"Yes, please," Lucifer nodded. "What's your name?"

"Sapphire," she replied.

"Come with me, Sapphire," he told her, leading her to the coat rack and giving her his coat since she wasn't wearing much. "We'll see where the night takes us!"

Dexter got up to follow, but when it turned out that all he and the young woman were doing was sitting on a bench by the club and talking, his only time touching her being when he moved a strand of bottle blonde hair out of her eyes.

After several minutes, he finally sighed. "You probably need to get back to work, don't you?" He told her. "I should let you go."

"No, actually we're just about to close, so I'm free as a bird," Sapphire replied with a giggle as she ran a blue-painted finger down his chest after unbuttoning a few buttons of his shirt. "I can do whatever you want."

"All right," Lucifer decided. "Let's go."

"What about Miss Ellie?" Dexter asked when he finally got out to the car and saw Sapphire in the back seat. "You know she won't like this. It's not gonna help your case at all."

"On the contrary, Dexter, I think she'll love me for looking for satisfaction elsewhere, at least for the time being. And really, I'm helping myself," Lucifer told him.

"What makes you say that?" Dexter questioned.

"Well, one of the reasons why things aren't working with Eleanor is that I'm making myself too available, aren't I? I'm becoming a pathetic loser who has to beg and plead to get a woman and that's not me! It's horribly unappealing and I don't know why it's taken so long for me to realize it."

"Who's Eleanor?" Sapphire asked.

"No one you need to worry about, dear," he told her dismissively. "Just an old girlfriend."

"Sounds like you still like her," Sapphire remarked.

"I do, but at this point, it's best to pretend I don't, so let's just leave it at that and not discuss it anymore, all right?" Lucifer snapped.

"Oh, all right," Sapphire nodded. "Whatever you say."

* * *

"Well," Ellie remarked when Lucifer came into the diner the next morning as she and Brad were having their post-jogging breakfast and she noticed he had a young woman on his arm. "This is a change. Who's your friend?"

"I'm Sapphire," the young woman replied and gave her a smile. "I met this guy here when he came to the club where I work and we spent a lot of time together. He even took me jogging this morning. Which was really weird because we've been working off the calories in other ways, haven't we, sweetie?" She gave him a spank and he made a face. He was now beginning to regret paying her extra to lie for him. She hadn't mentioned there would be spanking involved and unusually, it felt very off-putting to him. But because it was making Eleanor irritated, he decided to pretend he liked it.

"Oh, yes we have," he grinned as they rubbed noses. "Very busy all night. Lots of moaning lots of sweating...lots of fun."

"Oh?" Ellie asked, unpleasant feelings that she didn't want to address popping up in her stomach as she tried to stifle a growl at the back of her throat. "Have you? That's nice, isn't it? I hope the two of you are very happy."

"Oh, we _are_ , Eleanor," Lucifer replied with a grin. "Happy as can be. I'll have to thank you for encouraging me to meet other people."

"It's my pleasure," Ellie replied through gritted teeth and tried to keep her eyes on Brad instead of Lucifer's smug face. "I'm glad."

"You don't look glad. You look jealous," Lucifer told her, leaving Sapphire for a moment and following Ellie to the trash can. "Are you _jealous_?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "Of course not. That's something you would just _love_ to hear, wouldn't you? Did you pick her because she's all curvy and skinny and stuff? I'm sorry if I'm not as svelte as her, but I just had twins, so my body isn't exactly up to snuff, okay?"

"Darling, your body is perfectly lovely," Lucifer assured her. "That's why I've been trying so hard to get another look at it."

"Well, have a good look at it walking away!" Ellie snapped.

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "And if you could give me a little shake as you leave, I'd really appreciate it."

"Go to hell!" She said over her shoulder.

"I can't," he replied. "That's why I'm stuck here!"

"Who's that?" Brad asked her. "Is that him? Your ex? You want me to beat him up for you?"

"Don't bother," Ellie shook her head. "You'll just get hurt. He's more adept at fighting than he looks. Let's just ignore him or leave."

"All right," Brad nodded. "Whatever you say. But are you _sure_ I can't do anything to help the situation?"

"What you can do to help," Ellie told him firmly, "Is nothing. Don't engage with him. Don't stir him up."

There was still a part of Brad that wanted to go punch Lucifer in the face, but he did what Ellie said and stayed away, even as Lucifer did everything he could to try and get her to focus on him.

When they finally left, she smiled. "Thanks," she told Brad and took his hand as they walked away from the restaurant. "I know that was hard, but...thanks for doing what I asked you to."

"You're welcome," Brad told her. "I'm sorry you have to deal with a guy like that."

"Me too," Ellie nodded. "Me too."

* * *

But that night, things were different.

Breathing hard, Ellie struggled to jimmy the lock on the front door of Lucifer's mansion and when she finally got the door open, she threw herself inside, face planting on the floor as the door slammed behind her. She then sat up and tried to catch her breath as she wracked her brain for what to tell anyone that might come and ask what she was doing in his house in the middle of the night. She'd have to talk about how she'd had another nightmare and how this was the only way she could think of to end them, even though opening up that much was a definite risk.

Then she realized, after someone bumped into her, that the reason no one seemed to care was that they were busy with other things, namely caring for the twins.

After she was bumped into, the lights came on, and she found Dexter looking at her in surprise.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she quickly put a finger to her lips and then whispered, "Where's Lucifer?"

Dexter pointed up the stairs and she made her way up, heading toward the only door in the hallway that was open.

After she poked her head in the room, she was about to warn Lucifer she was around when something in the middle of the room caught her eye: amid the absolute mess, Lucifer was sleeping in a rocking chair along with a baby wrapped in a pink blanket who rested on his chest. He was a mess too, but if you ignored all that, it was actually kind of sweet. She made her way across the room and gently kissed Valerie's head before going to check on Vincent.

He was asleep, but as she got close to his crib, he opened his eyes. She was afraid that he would start crying and alert Lucifer to her presence, so she picked him up and tiptoed out of the room, settling down with him in the room next door.

It didn't take her long to feel that something in her was being filled. The circumstances of his birth were not ideal and she would never forget that. But it wasn't his fault and he just looked like an adorable slumbering baby and not the demon monster from her nightmares.

"I love you," she whispered to him. "I know I haven't been around, but I love you. I want you to know that, okay?" Then she started as she heard the sound of a throat being cleared and looked up, wide-eyed.

"Sorry," Dexter told her, flushing a little. "Don't be alarmed, it's just me. I didn't want to scare you, but clearly that failed."

"It's okay, Dexter," Ellie told him. "I'm glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too," Dexter replied. "But...what are you doing here? I thought your goal was to stay away after the twins were born."

"I've been having terrible nightmares about them," Ellie explained. "Maybe it's guilt at my decision to let Lucifer raise them without me. And they're just...they're really terrifying dreams and I want them to stop, so...I thought that coming here and interacting with my children would help that." She paused and grinned. "They're awfully cute. Not what I expected at all."

"Yeah," Dexter nodded. "The boss has done a surprisingly competent job with them, considering how nervous he was at first."

Ellie nodded. "Judging from the mess on his clothes, it seems like he actually takes care of them instead of just dumping them on you and the others and then going out and partying. That's probably one of the reasons why I felt guilty. But I don't really need to now, do I?"

"No," Dexter told her. "It's not as bad as all that, I promise. But I promise we'll all be glad when you're ready to come for good."

"Yeah," Ellie cradled Vincent as he yawned and shut his eyes. "I will be too." Then she yawned also. "Maybe I should head out," she remarked. "I didn't know I was so tired."

"No, stay here," Dexter urged. "It's all right. Don't go all the way home when you don't have to. From the sound of things, you'll get a better night's rest here, anyway."

"Yeah," Ellie shut her eyes, the weight of her son against her body oddly calming for her. "You're right. Good night, Dexter."

Dexter smiled as he went and got a blanket to put over her. "Goodnight, Miss Ellie."

* * *

Not long after, Lucifer sneezed himself awake, which unsettled his daughter. He quickly apologized to her, then after calming her down, took her back to her crib and tucked her in, wincing, as always, at the stains which now frequently covered his clothes. He then decided that he should check on Vincent as well, but when he looked in his son's crib, it was empty. Panic rose in his chest, and he was put in a mood that got rid of his human face. He then stormed downstairs to get Dexter.

"You idiots! Vincent's been kidnapped!" He yelled at all the assembled demons, who stared at him. "How could you let this happen?"

"I don't think that's right," Dexter shook his head since he knew that it was Ellie who had him. "I'm sure he wasn't kidnapped."

Lucifer grabbed Dexter by the collar. "Well, since you seem to know something I don't, let it out. Tell me where my son is!"

"Take a deep breath and leave the room you were in," Dexter told him. "Go to the room on the right and look in it. There you'll find your son."

"How could he be in the next room over without my knowing?" Lucifer asked, taking a deep breath.

"Just _go_ ," Dexter said firmly. "You'll be glad you did."

So Lucifer headed back upstairs, shaking his head at the nonsense that Dexter was spouting, until he looked in the room he'd mentioned and his jaw dropped. He went inside, not wanting to blink in case he really _was_ hallucinating that Eleanor was holding their son and that both were sound asleep.

He tiptoed toward her and touched her lightly on the shoulder. "Eleanor?" He whispered. She didn't wake up, but to his shock and joy, she didn't disappear either. She was really there.

He stood over her and stared until she turned her head and continued sleeping. Then he came to his senses. He couldn't just have her sleep in a chair all night! That wasn't right! He took Vincent from his mother and put him back in his bed.

Then he returned to Ellie, took off the blanket, and picked her up.

"Where do we go?" She muttered in her sleep.

"I'm taking you to bed," he whispered, knowing that she wouldn't be alarmed cause she wasn't even fully awake. "You shouldn't be sleeping in a chair."

"Okay," Ellie agreed and rested her head and snuggled close as best she could. Then, after staring down at her in disbelief that he was actually holding her in his arms and she wasn't running away from him, he carried her out of the room and had a decision to make: would he take her to his bed, or the one in the room Dexter had made up for her?

Finally, he decided to just put her in his bed because it was closer. He set her down on the mattress, took off her shoes, and put the blanket over her, kissing her forehead gently and moving her hair out of her eyes. "Sleep well, darling Eleanor," he said and then went to camp out with the twins again. It was the right thing to do. They needed him more, and if the first thing she saw when she woke up was him, it would just make her angry.

Or would it? _She_ had come here on her own. _She_ had chosen to bond with Vincent on her own. He had had nothing to do with it. So maybe...maybe he could get away with giving her a greeting and a rose in the morning. It was worth a shot, anyway.


	27. Coming Home

When Ellie opened her eyes the next morning, the first thing she saw was Lucifer grinning back at her as he lay beside her on the mattress.

"Good morning, Eleanor, my beautiful darling," he whispered, moving his head closer and closer to hers.

"Good morning," she whispered back, running her fingers through his hair before their lips met. Then she pulled away, gasped, and whacked him with a pillow.

"My god!" She cried and sat up. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Well, isn't it natural for me to be sleeping in my own bed in my own house?" Lucifer questioned. "I don't know why that's so strange!"

"What am I doing in your bed?" Ellie questioned. "Last thing I remember, I was in a room with Vincent!"

"But then he fell asleep and so did you and I thought you would be more comfortable if you weren't in a chair all night, so I brought you here," Lucifer informed her. "I didn't have bad intentions. If you'll notice, you're still fully clothed. And so am I."

"So? That doesn't prove anything!" Ellie hopped off the bed and looked for her shoes. "As far as I know, you could be waiting to enact some evil plot later. It's not like you haven't done it before!"

"Why are you acting like I lured you here?" Lucifer questioned. "You came of your own free will!"

"And that was a mistake!" Ellie snapped. "I'd rather face a million nights of bad dreams then stay here with you in this...this _place!_ Where the hell are my shoes?"

"Right here," Lucifer told her and surveyed her sneakers. "Have you ever thought of how pretty you'd be in really high heels? Why don't you try it?"

"No, no, thanks..." Ellie shook her head. "I have no wish to break my ankles, especially if the only purpose is to make you horny."

"Oh, come on, Eleanor!" Lucifer protested. "There's more to my request than that."

"No, there's not," Ellie shook her head and snatched her shoes away. "I'm saying goodbye to the twins and then I'm leaving."

Lucifer rolled his eyes as he watched her put on her sneakers and tie them before making her way down the stairs. How many times were they going to play this game? Personally, he'd had enough.

* * *

"Eleanor!" Lucifer boomed as she put her hand on the doorknob once they reached the ground level of the house. "Just where do you think you are going?"

"Away from you!" Ellie spat. "I thought I could handle it, but I can't...so I'm leaving."

"You can't be serious!" Lucifer gave a chuckle. "You're playing a joke on me!"

"No, I'm not," Ellie shook her head. "Does it sound like I am? Give me one good reason why I should stay here."

"Well, let's see..." Lucifer thought a moment. "Dexter, Vincent, Valerie, and, though you'll not admit it out loud... _me_!"

"You!" Ellie scoffed. "You're not a reason for me to stay!"

"I didn't want to have to do this, but I guess I do," Lucifer heaved an exaggerated sigh and then headed upstairs, bringing Valerie down a few seconds later. "How can you leave this sweet little child?" He asked, holding her up. "This sweet little girl who just wants her mother?"

Ellie tried to stand firm, but the little baby's face with her chubby cheeks and big eyes just made her heart melt. She opened the door, and was about to leave, but then slammed it shut and turned to face him.

"I hate you," she snapped at Lucifer. "I really...you...you're unbelievable, you know that?"

"So you're staying?" Lucifer grinned. "Wonderful!" He handed Valerie to her mother and then called for whichever demons were nearest.

"Yes, boss?" Asked one after three or four appeared.

"Eleanor is going to stay with us permanently," Lucifer told them. "Go to her house, it's just down the street there, and get her things and bring them back."

"All right," the demons nodded and left.

"This'll be fun!" Lucifer smiled. "Won't it?"

"Yeah," Ellie agreed half-heartedly. "Can't wait to get the phone call from Daddy where he asks me what the heck i think I'm doing and have I lost my mind. That'll be fun too." She paused and shifted Valerie's position in her arms. "Here's the one big condition of me moving in here, though: I'm going to keep jogging with Brad whether you like it or not."

"Why don't you and I jog together?" Lucifer bristled. "What do you need him for?"

"Cause it's weird to befriend someone and then drop them like a hot potato less than a month later," Ellie replied. "You and I can find plenty of stuff to do together. Just let me have this, please? It's not like I'm going to develop the hots for him or something."

"You better not!" Lucifer replied. "Cause that would hurt my feelings! And when my feelings are hurt, I can't always be held responsible for what I do."

"Yes, you can," Ellie replied firmly. "No more hurting people as a way to deal with anger."

"You know, I bet your aunt wouldn't mind if that's what I chose to do," Lucifer said. "Do you think we could double date with them? I think it would be fun."

"I wouldn't mind," Ellie shrugged. "But doesn't she still hate you for taking the government away from Dorian?"

"I don't think so," Lucifer shook his head. "I think as long as I let her keep the house, she doesn't think about me anymore."

"I'll just have to ask her," Ellie remarked. "Now, where are the twins' toys? They could probably be doing something more stimulating with their time then just standing around or sleeping."

"You know, I too can think of some more stimulating things I'd rather do with my time," Lucifer agreed as he led her to the twins' play room. "Want to hear about them?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "Not yet. It's too soon. But I have my own ideas too."

"You do?" Lucifer questioned, a little surprised as Ellie handed him Valerie, threw some toys on the floor, and went to grab Vincent. "Can't wait to hear that."

They spent the rest of the day playing with the twins, only pausing to direct the movers, until finally, everything was in the house and Ellie was completely comfortable calling the mansion "home".

* * *

"Would you care to explain to me why people came from Lucifer's house and demanded that we give them all your things?" Josh asked Ellie later in the day. "Are you all right? Did he kidnap you again? What's going on?"

Ellie sighed. "Daddy, you know that I've been having nightmares about the twins. And if I haven't had nightmares, I've had nightmares about _thinking_ that I'm going to have nightmares. So I just...I finally decided that it might be easier for my conscience and my sanity if I moved in with Lucifer. This time it was my choice."

"All right," Josh agreed. "As long as it was your choice, because I hate the idea of you being forced into a situation where you'll be unhappy. If you ever need your mother or me to come rescue you, you know where we are."

"Yes, Daddy," Ellie nodded. "Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. Bye."

It was just after she hung up that there was a knock at her door.

After she gave permission for the person to enter, she bit her lip on a smile when she saw it was Lucifer with a single red rose in hand.

"That's pretty," she remarked. "Is it for me?"

"No, I just like carrying roses around for kicks and giggles," he grinned and came to sit beside her, running it slowly down her cheek. "I'm glad you chose to stay, Eleanor. Even this last time was a choice. I know I couldn't make you stay if you truly didn't want to."

"You're right," Ellie nodded. "You couldn't."

He looked her in the eyes and then put the rose in one of her hands and kissed the other. "Are you...are you glad to be here too?" He asked. He seemed nervous.

"I-I don't know yet," she answered honestly. "But I...I want to be at the point where I am. I promise I really _will_ try to see this place as our home now."

Lucifer then took her face in his hands. "Our home," he whispered. "I like the sound of that." Then, he hugged her close and without hesitation, she threw her arms around his neck.

"I like it too," she whispered, some tears falling down her cheeks. "I like it too."

"Oh, Eleanor," Lucifer breathed and held her tight against himself. "Eleanor, Eleanor, Eleanor..."

"Is that all you can say now?" Ellie joked.

"Eleanor," Lucifer got out again.

She smiled and kissed him again, and it went on until Dexter opened the door and caused them to separate.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I should have knocked. I didn't know you were...never mind! Just a thing with the twins, but we can handle it."

"Is it a bad thing?" Ellie asked. "Are they sick, are they hurt? Dexter, what's going on?"

"No," Dexter shook his head. "I think they just want their parents. But like I said, we can handle it if you two want to continue your...moment. It's so nice that you're finally having some."

"Oh, it's okay," Ellie said and hopped off the bed. "We can have more moments after we take care of the twins." She eyed Lucifer. "Right, Luci?"

"Yes, Eleanor," Lucifer nodded. "Of course."

So they went to see the twins and as Dexter had guessed, they just wanted a little more parent time before they fell asleep and once they were tucked into their beds, Ellie and Lucifer headed back to his room, where they sat on their bed hand in hand and stared at one another.

"So...sex?" Lucifer asked at last. "Yes, no...never? How badly did I mess that up for myself?"

"Not too bad," Ellie assured him. "I can still do it, no problem. But the first time we do, I'm on top. No arguments."

"None here," Lucifer grinned. "I know you ride horses, so this will be very promising, won't it?"

"Oh, yeah," Ellie grinned and then nibbled on his earlobe before whispering in his ear. "And if you're nice to me, I might even wear black leather."

"Would you?" Lucifer chuckled, thrilled that there _was_ a little devil in the woman he'd previously thought of as a total saint, albeit a very angry one. "Sounds thrilling. I can't wait!"


	28. Ellie's Devilish Side

"I'm very proud of how well you took Ellie moving in with Lucifer," Sarah praised Josh. "I thought you would be angry, but you were so calm!"

"Oh, I'm angry all right," Josh told her. "I'm just too nice to be mad to Ellie's face." His hands became fists as he asked, "Does she honestly expect me to believe that she chose to be with him this time? He had to have forced her into it!" He shook his head. "I have to call Junior and tell him the bad news. I have to. It's the only way I'm going to be understood because for some reason, you're just going along with this crazy plan!"

Sighing in frustration, he went and grabbed the phone to call Junior.

"I was just about to call you!" Junior told him when he identified himself. "Can you believe what Ellie did? I thought things were going well between us!"

"I know!" Josh replied. "I'm as shocked as you are! I thought we raised her to know better than just to run off with Satan at the first opportunity."

Sarah watched this for a few seconds and then ran to the bedroom to get on the extension. "Newsflash you two," she snapped. "Ellie did what she did because she's starting have real feelings for Lucifer!"

"Don't say that, Sarah!" Junior told her. "And get off the phone! Can't you see we're trying to have a private conversation?"

"Yes, I see that," Sarah replied. "But I don't see how denying reality is going to help you deal with Ellie being gone."

"Are you saying that you're happy with her being with Lucifer?" Junior questioned. "What kind of a mother are you?"

"One who's been her parent longer than either of you!" Sarah snapped. "Now, we might all be nervous about her choice. But she's got a stable head on her shoulders, so if this is what she wants, we should trust her."

The silence on the other end of the line showed that her impassioned plea on behalf of their daughter hadn't changed Junior or Josh's minds.

"Fine," she remarked. "You guys can be bad sports about this all you want, but it'll just mean that when this is all over, I'm still gonna be able to be close to her while you two get kept away."

"You really think she'd stop talking to us?" Junior questioned. "Of course she wouldn't! She's not that sort of person."

"Of course she's not, but Lucifer might keep anyone away who's against their relationship...or at least make it very difficult to make you see her. Wouldn't you rather things were as easy as possible if the alternative is risking not seeing Ellie ever again? And don't say that the threat of not seeing Ellie again means you have to double down on your efforts to try and get her back because that will help nothing."

"Sarah, I'm surprised you don't trust us!" Junior told her. "We will do the best thing for Ellie and not let our egos get in the way."

"Sure you will," Sarah replied. "Everything you've been saying proves that."

"Just trust us, would you?" Junior asked. "And get off the line!"

"Fine," Sarah sighed. "But I'm watching you. _Very closely_."

* * *

In the heat of the moment, when Ellie had felt particularly comfortable and desirable, it had been easy for her to make enticing promises to Lucifer regarding their sex life. But once she got out of the bedroom and realized what she'd promised...terror overtook her.

"I don't know what I was thinking, Dexter!" She told him as she paced back and forth while he watched. "I don't know how to be sexy! I've been the age I am for hardly any time at all! If I try to be sexy, it'll just look stupid and I'll feel like giant loser! Why did I promise him that?" She shook him. " _Why_?"

"I'm sure he wouldn't think you were a giant loser!" Dexter tried to reassure her. "And if you don't feel comfortable in leather, I bet you could wear a paper sack and it wouldn't matter."

"But I promised him _leather_!" Ellie groaned and sat down in a chair, her hands over her face. "And he's the freaking _devil_! He has standards! And I have to meet them at least once, right?"

Dexter sighed and took what little chair space was left as he put his arm around her. "I will help you be this person you feel you should be, and so will the others. We'll give you whatever you need. But I'll say one more time, that I swear the only person holding themselves up to such high expectations is you, not the boss. I hope you'll realize that someday."

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "Me too. Cause it'll make things a lot easier, that's for sure. And are you serious about helping me be sexier?"

"Of course," Dexter nodded. "Would I lie to you? Have I lied to you ever?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "You're the one part of this mess that hasn't totally sucked. But...how will you help me? How does a person help someone with something like that?"

"Just trust us, okay?" Dexter smiled. "You're in good hands, I promise."

* * *

After a week of training with Dexter and a few of the other demons who had promised to keep it a secret, Ellie decided to take a big step and buy the clothes she would wear for her and Lucifer's first big night: a tiny leather skirt, thigh high boots with really tall and pointy heels, and a shiny leather midriff top, along with some special underwear. She got them and sneaked home, hoping she could get into her room without having to answer any questions.

Luckily, when she reached home, everything was quiet. It seemed like she was alone, until she heard Dexter's voice from overhead. He must be on twin-watching duty.

"You're back!" He remarked as he slowly descended the stairs. "Let me see what you bought."

"It's crazy," Ellie shook her head and held the bag out to him. "It makes me blush just looking at it."

Dexter rifled through the bag and grinned. "I'd say you're off to a promising start," he told her. "You're gonna do okay."

"Really?" Ellie questioned.

"Really," Dexter insisted. "You're a beautiful woman. Don't forget that. Plus, there's more he likes about you too than just your face."

"Is that so?" Ellie asked, hands on hips. "Face, boobs, butt...you're right."

"No, I meant your personality," Dexter told her.

"Did he tell you this?" Ellie questioned. "Or are you just trying cheer me up?"

"He told me," Dexter nodded and then cleaned off his glasses. "But don't tell him I said anything. It's supposed to be a secret."

"All right," Ellie grinned. "He won't hear it from me." She took the bag of clothes and shoes back and shook her head. "My god, what am I doing? I must be crazy!"

"You're not crazy," Dexter assured her. "This'll be a good thing. It'll be worth it. I promise!"

* * *

That night, Ellie, clad in a light purple bathrobe that hid her sexy clothes, looked down on the lower floor with her hands tightly clutching the stairwell as Lucifer talked to his men. They'd all just come back from his new offices, and now was the perfect time to reveal herself. If she didn't do it now, she might lose her nerve.

She ran to the top of the stairs and changed her normal walk into a strut, with her head held high.

"Hey, honey!" She called to get his attention, and when his head turned, she let the robe fall to her feet and saw him gasp, even from the distance. Then all the men turned and watched as she made her way down the stairs and took his arm with a wink.

"Sorry to interrupt," she breathed. "I just...I got some new clothes that I thought you'd wanna see." She gave him a wink and did a surprisingly graceful turn on her boots and then looked over her shoulder. "Take all the time you need, but I'll be sad if you keep me waiting for too long." She then sashayed back up the stairs, leaving the demons staring at each other in disbelief.

"Boss..." One of them began. "What...?"

"It can wait," Lucifer replied. "Meeting dismissed, men!" Then he ran up the stairs and shut the bedroom door, locking it behind him as Ellie came into view, perched seductively on his bed. "Well, hello there," he grinned. "Love the outfit. Leather, just like you promised.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I'm not the type to break my promises. Come a little closer and I'll help you out of those pants."

"No need," Lucifer promised and took everything off below the waist by himself before joining her in bed. "But you can help me off with my shirt if you want."

"Okay," Ellie nodded and then began undoing his buttons after pushing him back on the mattress. "Remember, I get to be on top."

"Oh, I remember," Lucifer nodded. "Cause I've been a very bad boy. Are you gonna hurt me too?"

"Well, it wasn't part of my plan originally," Ellie replied. "But I can always keep an open mind."

He chuckled and she grinned back as she undressed and then reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "Are you nervous?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'm intrigued. Very intrigued. Nice to see there's a bit of a bad girl in you after all."

Ellie then zapped up a purple silk scarf and secured both his wrists to the bed post before she straddled him and began riding him hard.

As he laughed beneath her, his eyes bright with enjoyment, she paused and gave him a slap. "What's wrong with you?" She asked. "Do you think this is funny?"

"Oh, no, ma'am," Lucifer shook his head. "Certainly not."

"Good," Ellie nodded and leaned down to kiss him as he freed his hands from the restraints and cupped her bottom. "Good."

Finally, they decided to take a break and just lay next to each other under the covers.

"Did that suck?" Ellie questioned. "You can be honest with me. I know you're into model types like Sapphire and she and I aren't exactly twins, are we?"

"No, it didn't suck," Lucifer shook his head. "It was a delightful surprise and I enjoyed myself very much. I didn't expect you to go all out the first time. And as for Sapphire, I only took up with her so you'd be more aware of your feelings for me." He reached out and stroked her belly. "I'm glad it did." He paused. "Damn. I was so swept up that I forgot to ask: you're on pills or something, right? Cause I don't think we should have any more children at the moment."

"Oh, don't worry," Ellie assured him. "I'm on the pill." She got out of bed and went to the bathroom. "And I went and bought you condoms so we're covered."

"But how could you know what size I am if I didn't come with you?" Lucifer questioned.

"Trust me," Ellie assured him when she crawled in bed next to him again and he spooned her while taking one of her hands in his and kissing it. "We're covered."

"You know, it's funny," he remarked. "I used to hate idea of having children and now I have two of them. Who'd have thought it."

"Do you regret it?" She asked. "Having children?"

"I couldn't," he remarked as she rolled over to face him. "I couldn't hate them because they're partly you. And I love you."

Ellie smiled. "Thanks," She replied and kissed him. "You wanna bring them in here? Just for a little bit, I mean?"

"Yeah," Lucifer nodded and got up, putting his boxers back on and heading for the twins' room. It wasn't a long walk and he was soon back with a twin in each arm.

"Here," Ellie said, putting on his shirt and grabbing Vincent. "Let me help."

Soon, the four of them were all in bed together.

"I still can't believe I have children," Lucifer sighed. "It's...I...wow."

"And they look so normal!" Ellie added as Victor wrapped his hand around her finger. "In my nightmares, they had horns and red eyes and stuff."

"That's still possible," Lucifer replied. "Can't tell you exactly what sort of weird genetics I passed on, but I wouldn't count that out." He paused. "What did they get from you, do you think? I know you're not exactly typical."

"In all honesty, they got a bit of everything from me," Ellie admitted. "Magic, thirst for blood, and after their first kill, werewolf transformation at the full moon."

"Oh, how fun!" Lucifer grinned.

"We're waiting with that until they're old enough to deal with it," Ellie warned. "No little baby wolves running around, no matter how entertaining it might be to you."

"Eleanor, they're my children!" Lucifer told her, looking scandalized. "They're going to be at least teenagers before I start letting them in on the secrets of the forces of darkness."

"Good," Ellie nodded and kissed both of the twins' heads followed by Lucifer sneaking a kiss from her. "I should hope so."


	29. Teenage Monsters

"What's gonna be in this room?" Ellie questioned when she found Lucifer and the other demons clearing a room in his mansion.

"We're having a new guest," Lucifer told her. "His name is Christopher, and us having him will help us with our own children. They have very similar genetic makeups."

"Where did he come from?" Ellie asked. "Are you saying he's a demon?"

"His parents are the first case of a demon woman mating with a non-demon man," Lucifer grinned. "And I'm relieving his parents of the difficulties of raising him."

Ellie's jaw dropped. "You can't just take a child from his family! That's _horrible_! Give him back!"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "Not when I've taken so much time planning what I'm gonna do with him."

"Give him back," Ellie said firmly. "Or I'm not gonna go to bed with you ever again. And that would be a shame because I've got plans involving a whip."

"Don't tease me, Eleanor," Lucifer told her, the thought alone arousing him.

"I wouldn't," Ellie shook her head. Then, her lips curved into a grin and she nibbled on his earlobe before whispering to him with her lips against his ear. "But if you let him stay with his parents, we'll have a _really_ good night."

"Damn you, Eleanor!" Lucifer huffed. "I thought I was going to have to ease you into being wicked, goad you into it. But you seem to be getting into it perfectly well on your own."

"Damn right," Ellie nodded, arms crossed. "So, are you going to go tell them that they get to keep their son? Or not?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "I'm not a fool. I'll go."

"I'm coming with you," Ellie said and followed him out of the house. "Just to make sure. I'll wait in the car and I won't take my eyes off of you for a minute."

"Except for when I get invited inside their house," Lucifer pointed out and straightened his jacket. "You won't be able to watch me then."

"You're plotting to take away their son!" Ellie reminded him. "They aren't going to invite you in."

"Oh, they might," Lucifer told her. "I can be very charming when I want to be."

"Well, you aren't now," Ellie remarked. "When are you leaving?"

"We might as well go," Lucifer told her. "Let's get this over with and do more pleasant things after." He held out his elbow with a grin. "Shall we, Eleanor?"

"Yes," Ellie sighed and took his arm. "We shall."

* * *

"What do you want?" Sybil asked when she found Lucifer standing at her and Klaus' front door. "I oughta just slam this in your face! What else can you take from us? Haven't you punished us enough already?"

"Well, if you'll just give me a chance to explain," Lucifer told her, "you will know that I have good news for you. It's been brought to my attention that perhaps I've been cruel in planning to take your son away from you and use him for my own purposes, even though I still stand by the fact that raising him could very well be a difficult venture for you."

"We've considered that," Sybil told him firmly. "If you're offering to give us our son back, we accept. If this wasn't entirely your fault, I would thank you."

"You're welcome, Sybil," he said and gave a happy little hop at the thought of what was waiting for him at home. "Good luck." He paused. "Thank you for being so sensible about this. I was honestly hoping for more of a fight."

"If you want one, I'll give it to you," Sybil told him. "You want to land in the grass when you get your black eye, or the carpet?"

"No, no, I didn't mean it that way," Lucifer put up a hand. "It's just that my...that Eleanor came with me cause she doesn't trust me to handle things in a civil manner, and I don't want her to think she came for no reason."

Sybil raised an eyebrow. "You want me to punch you in the face so you can feel macho in front of a woman? What the hell is wrong with you? I thought they were the ones who were supposed to work to impress _you_."

"Yes, well...it's a bit different this time," Lucifer told her impatiently. "So just punch me. Please!"

"Fine," Sybil replied and sent him flying backward with enough force that he finally landed on the grass in front of the house.

He got a little time to catch his breath and then she came to stand over him. "Thanks," she grinned. "That really _did_ make me feel less murderous."

"Anything I can do to help," Lucifer told her, shaking his head. He hoped Eleanor appreciated everything he was letting people get away with for her sake. Then he grinned as he saw Ellie striding toward the both of them. "Have you come to defend my honor, Eleanor?" He asked. "Go ahead! She hit me!"

"Oh, you probably deserved it," Ellie told him and then took Sybil's hand. "Hi," she told her. "I'm Ellie. I'm sorry for whatever it is Lucifer's done to you. It won't happen again, I promise."

"Don't be too free and loose with the promises, Eleanor," Lucifer cautioned. "While I might not do the same thing to them, I'm sure that since Sybil there is a demon, she'll eventually do _something_ that will catch my eye. She's not always been the best behaved person in the world, you know."

"You're not a demon," Sybil surmised, eying Ellie up and down. "So how in the world did you end up with him?"

"It's a long story," Ellie replied. "Much too complicated to get into. Now, has he told you that you'll be able to get your son back without any more interference?"

"Yes, he has," Sybil nodded. "Did you have something to do with that decision? He wouldn't be that generous on his own. I know him well enough to know that."

"Yes, I gave him an incentive to give you your son back," Ellie nodded. "And if there's anything we can do to help you from now on, just let us know, okay?"

"All right," Sybil nodded, stunned that a young woman who seemed so stable, kind, and sane, would be hanging around Lucifer. She'd probably made some selfless deal with him. Either that, or she was much darker than she seemed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ellie replied and offered Lucifer her hand. He took it and they walked back to the car.

"That was good," Ellie told him and patted his leg. "You were nice. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Eleanor," Lucifer replied. "But don't think you've turned me into a complete softie. I still have some of my dark side."

"Oh, I know," Ellie nodded. "I accept that, and I have no problem with you going after people who deserve it."

"You don't?" Lucifer asked. "Well, that's...that's good. It's nice that on some level, we understand each other."

"Do you want to go straight home?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah," Lucifer nodded. "Unless you were fibbing to me about the whole whip business."

"No," Ellie shook her head. "I wasn't."

* * *

Sybil waited on the doorstep until they drove away and then went inside.

"Who was at the door?" Klaus asked.

"It was Lucifer," she said. "Apparently, he's decided to relinquish his grip on Christopher. We get to have him back without trouble!"

"That's very good to hear," Klaus smiled. "He's still at the cave with Alistair. I'll call Alistair and tell him that it's time to bring our son home. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to get back home to Astrid."

"I'm sure he will too," Sybil agreed. "It was awfully nice of him to help us, considering his position in the magical world and how everyone there is scared as hell of demons."

"Yeah," Klaus nodded. "He's really amazing, Alistair. I don't know what I would have done without him." He paused and asked, "So do you want me to go pick Christopher up?"

"No, I will," Sybil replied. "The demon stuff he got from me is going to cause the most trouble for him, and besides, establishing the mother-child bond is important, isn't it?"

She then went to call Alistair herself, but then was given some heartbreaking news.

"I talked to him," Alistair told her after putting her on hold for a bit. "And he says he's not ready to leave yet. Would you be willing to wait a few days before coming to pick him up?"

* * *

By the time they got home, Lucifer had decided to delay his bedroom time with Ellie until evening when his face didn't hurt so much.

"What should we do instead?" Ellie questioned.

"How much of this house have you seen?" Lucifer questioned and led her down a narrow, secret staircase behind a bookshelf. "From the look on your face, not much, I take it."

"No," Ellie shook her head. "What's down here?" Then she let out a cry as she slipped after missing one of the narrow steps. Luckily, Lucifer wasn't far behind her and was able to grab her before they both fell down the stairs.

"Why don't I just carry you?" He offered, taking her in his arms. "It might be less dangerous that way."

"It depends," Ellie replied as he continued down the stairs. "You better not drop me!"

"Really, Eleanor, does it feel like I'm going to drop you?" Lucifer asked.

"No, but I just want to make sure that you don't!" Ellie chided.

When they got down the stairs, they headed into a room that surprised Ellie very much.

"If I'm not mistaken," she said when she was put on her feet and able to look around, "this seems like a two-lane bowling alley."

"Yep, it is," Lucifer nodded with a grin. "Do you play? I've been told I'm quite good myself."

"And how many people have you set on fire just so you'll win?" Ellie asked dryly.

"Why did Dexter have to tell you about that?" Lucifer huffed. "It was one time! I've not done it since!"

"Well, I hope not," Ellie told him and sat down at the computer. "I'm putting my name in first."

"Why?" Lucifer asked. "Why can't I go first?"

"Cause I want to," Ellie replied. "And you're just gonna have to deal with it." She typed in both their names (actually, Lucifer was written down as "big crybaby") and started the game.

Lucifer was all ready to complain until he realized he had a good view to enjoy while she got into position to throw the ball. She got a strike and jumped up and down before turning and grinning at him.

"See?" She said. "Now it's your turn. Not much of a wait, was it?"

"No, I guess not," Lucifer replied and grabbed the ball out of her hands. Then he assumed the position and was throwing when a wolf whistle came from behind him, threw off his aim, and made the ball go into the gutter. "Damn!" He swore and turned to glare at Ellie, who had her hands in her lap and was looking very innocent.

"What?" She asked. "Why are you looking at me with a mad face?"

"You were trying to make me lose!" He cried. "You did that on purpose!"

"Well, excuse me for wanting to express appreciation for the view I was getting of your ass in those pants," Ellie told him. "You're always telling me that I should acknowledge my feelings for you, and then when I do, you get cranky. You know, sometimes, you make no sense at all."

Lucifer just shook his head and muttered under his breath. His second throw made him get nine pins down. This was how the rest of the game went for him, and since he learned to expect it, his scores for the second, third, fourth, and fifth games were much higher, even though Ellie still won by ten pins.

"I think we should stop now," Lucifer told her when the fifth game was over. "I just remembered what I'd rather be doing instead. And you _did_ promise."

"Oh, I didn't forget," Ellie replied earnestly as he picked her up and carried her to the narrow, twisty stairwell again. "I just wanted to see if you'd remember, since you seemed so determined to beat me at bowling and all."

"I wouldn't forget what you have in store," Lucifer assured her as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I promise."

* * *

When they got upstairs, they made a quick detour to check on the twins, who were sleeping soundly, and then, finally, got down to business, with Ellie changing into the outfit she'd worn for their first encounter and Lucifer handcuffed naked to the bed.

Ellie cracked the whip in the air once, and even though it didn't touch him, his body still twitched and he burst into laughter as Ellie then came over to the bed and ran her hands over his back and bottom, glad they'd decided to rest him on his belly.

He then began moaning with pleasure and that was when she first brought the whip down on his back. "Does that feel just as good?" She asked.

"In its own way, yes," Lucifer replied. "Do it again!" He commanded. "Do it until I bleed!"

So she did and soon his body was covered in blood and he was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.

Then, she turned him over and looked deeply into his eyes before giving his stomach a few lashes as well.

"Why did you have to turn me over?" He asked. She was truly looking into the devil's eyes now. There was nothing human about his face. But she wasn't frightened.

"Cause I want to know what your blood tastes like," she remarked, running her finger alonge one of the cuts on his belly and then sticking it in her mouth. "And I wanted you to watch me while I tasted you."

She sucked on her finger as he watched her with wide-eyed fascination, his breathing slowing, his face turning human again. "How do I taste?" He asked at last.

"Good," she said, stripping below the waist and straddling him again before leaning forward and kissing his chest, then licking more blood from his cuts. "How much do you think I can have before I turn into a monster?"

"I don't know," Lucifer replied. "But you can have as much as you want. It doesn't matter to me. It's just nice to know you weren't fibbing about being a vampire."

"No, I wasn't," Ellie shook her head and thrust her hips forward. "I wouldn't lie about that. What would the point be?"

"I don't know," Lucifer shook his head. "You could be saying nonsense to impress me."

"Oh, come on, Luci," she grinned and pinched his cheek. "You and I both know that I don't have to make stuff up to impress you, do I?"

"No," Lucifer admitted before reaching up to, lower her top and cup her breasts. "You sure don't."

* * *

"I don't want to go in there," Christopher spat, trying to get free of the grip Sybil had on his hand when they reached the house. She'd finally been able to bring him home after three days of him stubbornly refusing to leave Alistair and the cave. " _I don't want to go in there_!"

"Well where do you want to go, then?" Sybil cried irritably. "You didn't want to be in the car, I assume, because you tried to jump out twice, which you can _not_ do in the middle of traffic. It's a bad idea! You could be hurt."

"I want to be in the yard," Christopher replied. "A wide open space like I had in the cave with Alistair, since you wouldn't let me stay there. You just want to trap me!"

"I _don't_!" Sybil assured him, while trying not to resent him for making the bonding process so damn difficult. "I want to bond with you and love you because I'm your mother!"

"You might be," Christopher replied, his red eyes narrowed. "But I'm still sleeping outside."

"No, you're not!" Sybil shook her head and dragged her son in the house. "Klaus, tell Christopher he can't sleep out in the yard!"

"Why not?" Klaus questioned, sensing exactly why his son was having that urge and looking over the beastly-looking young man. "How's it gonna hurt him, Sybil?"

"Thank you!" Christopher told him, finally breaking free and running to hug his father. "I've been trying to tell her that, but she just won't _listen_!"

"Yeah, sometimes she doesn't," Klaus told him. "But it's something you get used to and are able to ignore after a time."

"Really?" Christopher asked skeptically. "I don't know about that."

"Hey!" Sybil cried. "I'm standing right here!"

"Yeah, we know," Christopher replied and turned his attention back to his father. "Do you know where we can get a tent and set it up?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "There's a store that sells outdoor stuff not far from here. We can go pick out the tent you want there."

"Good," Christopher nodded and gave a shudder. "Anything to get out of here. I'm starting to feel like everything is closing in on me!"

They left the house and Sybil sighed, collapsing in a chair. She had tried really hard to be welcoming and loving. Sure, she'd probably been shorter on patience than she should have been, but that was no reason for Christopher to just toss her aside! No reason at all.

Wanting some positive attention, she called her father.

"Are you okay?" Jeffrey asked. "You seem down."

"Well, good news is, we finally convinced your grandson to leave the cave and come home with us. The bad news is, he hates me and would rather live in the yard. I don't know what I did to make him hate me so much. I haven't had time to make the same mess with him that I made with Eric."

"You'll probably hate that the only advice I can give you now is to just be patient," Jeffrey replied. "Don't push him. Let him come to you."

"Do you think that'll work?" Sybil asked.

"Well, what other choice do you have if you want to have any hope for your relationship at all?" Jeffrey asked. "You want me to come over there? Bring a pizza?"

"Yeah," Sybil nodded as she watched Klaus and Christopher come into the yard through the glass back door, sighing as she saw them setting up the tent. "That would be nice. I could use the company."

"All right," Jeffrey nodded. "I won't be long, I promise. Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye, Daddy," Sybil replied and ended the call.


	30. What Is Love?

"I'm going jogging!" Ellie announced to an only recently arisen Lucifer one morning after looking at the clock on the wall. As his jaw dropped, she said, "Don't worry, I'm meeting Brad away from the house. You won't have to see him."

Lucifer sighed and watched her go.

"Are you all right?" Dexter asked as he handed him his third Bloody Mary. "I mean, I know you're not cause you hate the idea of her jogging with other guys, but for you, you're handling it very well."

"The fact that she's not wearing skintight jogging clothes makes it a bit easier to deal with," Lucifer admitted as he pushed the drink away and rested his head on the table. "I guess it's obvious where I stand now." He paused and sat up. "Where's a baby? Get me a baby. I need someone to cuddle since the someone I usually cuddle with is out running and getting cinnamon rolls with another man."

"What do you mean?" Dexter questioned and sat down after bringing him Victor and Valerie both cause it seemed like he needed all the cheering up he could get. "What haven't you told me?"

"Well, we were with the twins the other day and I let a certain set of three words slip out in the heat of the moment," Lucifer explained, hugging the twins close to himself as Dexter's eyes widened. "And she hasn't said a word about it! So as I see it, we have three possible reasons why: one, she was so focused on the children that she didn't notice. All she did was smile and say 'Thanks'. Not 'I love you too'. That's one option. Two, she doesn't feel the same way about me and that's why she's continuing to go out with Brad and hasn't said the same, or...I don't know three. Maybe there's only two."

"Maybe you should say it again," Dexter encouraged. "It has to be that she didn't hear you. Or think you were serious. Or maybe she's just wanting to take things slow because of everything you've been through. Don't give up on this. It could lead to something very promising."

"You think?" Lucifer asked. "Really? You better not be fooling with me, Dexter. This is important!"

"I know that," Dexter assured him. "Believe me."

Still not quite convinced, Lucifer sat in his chair, clutching the twins to his chest until the front door opened again and Ellie called out.

"Hello, people! Lovely day!"

"Eleanor!" Lucifer whispered.

"You want me to take the children?" Dexter asked. "Why don't I do that?" He took Valerie first and began talking to her in baby talk as he walked away.

"Why are you speaking in that ridiculous way?" Lucifer questioned.

"It's how children start to get a grip on language," Dexter explained. "I read it in a book. You want me to leave it by your bed?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "You will not. I don't need to talk to my children like that. It's stupid!"

"All right," Dexter shrugged. "Whatever." He came back for Vincent just as Ellie was sitting down at the kitchen table.

"It's fine," she said and took him from Lucifer. "You don't have to take him, Dexter. I haven't seen him yet today."

"All right, Miss Ellie," Dexter nodded. "Sounds like you had a good jog."

"I did," Ellie nodded. "I feel great!" She then put a bag on the table and pushed it toward Lucifer. "That's for you," she told him.

"Really?" Lucifer asked. "What is it?"

"It's a really good cookie from place Brad and I go for coffee," Ellie told him. "I thought you might like it."

"Well...thank you," he told her. "That's very nice."

"You're welcome," Ellie told him with a smile and hugged Vincent to her one more time before handing him to Dexter. "Now I gotta go shower cause I am just gross right now."

"I could come help you," Lucifer told her. "I would be more than happy to."

"All right," Ellie nodded and reached behind her to grab his hand before moving a little faster toward the master bedroom. "But remember, this is purely a shower for cleaning."

"Oh, come on, Eleanor," Lucifer told her. "There can be a little sex, can't there?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "I guess there can. But just a little."

They got to the bathroom and watched each other undress and then got under the water. Then Lucifer carefully washed Ellie's hair before soaking and lathering up the loofah and moving it over every inch of Ellie's body while nibbling on her ear for a short time before she threw her arms around his neck and he threw the loofah on the shower floor, pulling her close for a few minutes before he braced her against the wall and slipped his hand between her legs.

"This is good," Ellie nodded. "I like this."

"Good," Lucifer whispered back. "And once we're done and go to bed, there's more where that came from."

"All right," Ellie nodded. "Sounds good to me!"

They got out of the shower soon after and while Ellie dried her hair, Lucifer ate his cookie on the bed.

"You know, these _are_ wonderful," he remarked. "Are they always this good?"

"Yep," Ellie nodded. "So, here's my deal: I will keep bringing you cookies if you continue to be a good sport about me jogging with Brad. I'm awfully proud of the way you're handling this, considering that I know it really irritates you. And we both remember what you did last time you thought you were gonna lose me."

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "And that was wrong. That's not even normal behavior for me. I punish bad people, not innocents like yourself. I just...I was really scared of losing the one good thing in my life and so I...just let my emotions run wild and you ended up being hurt. I'm not trying to excuse anything, mind you. Just going over why I did what I did."

"Oh, I know you feel bad. I do," Ellie nodded. "Like I say, the fact that you let me go jogging with another guy and have not tried to stop me or kill him shows growth on your part that I really wasn't sure you were capable of." She kissed his cheek. "I'm proud of you, Luci."

"Th-thank you," Lucifer replied. "Thank you very much for noticing. Not many people notice when I behave myself. It's only the bad behavior that catches people's attention."

"Oh, I'm always gonna notice, I promise," Ellie told him. "And you and I should think of what we can do together as a hobby since you're not into jogging." She grinned. "I mean, other than what we do in this bed."

Lucifer chuckled and took her in his arms for a moment before lowering her down on the mattress. "You think we'll do it often enough that it could be considered a hobby?"

"Oh, yeah," Ellie smiled. "I have no doubt."

Then, he took a deep breath and looked her right in the eye. "I love you, Eleanor."

"You do?" Ellie smiled and took his face in her hands. "You really mean that?"

"Yes," Lucifer replied. "Yes I do."

Ellie sighed and shook her head. "I wish...I wish I knew what romantic love was so I could say it back. I know that's what you want to hear. But how can I say it when we both know I haven't been around long enough to understand the meaning of the word? That I've really only been around long enough to know that love means buying your daughter a fish when she's sad, or making her big chocolate chip pancakes in the morning? Or giving a hug before you're put to bed at night and being woken up with a smile? But I...I suppose that when I'm around you, it's like a part of me that was missing has been filled. And when you're gone...I feel like I'm not a complete person. That's part of why I came back, other than the nightmares, I mean. Is that what love is? Do you know?"

Lucifer thought a moment. "I suppose. But I've never...it's not something I think about very often. I'll take it though."

"Thanks," Ellie told him and rested her head on his shoulder. "That makes me feel good."

"Me too, Eleanor," he replied and kissed her hair. "Me too."

* * *

Soon after that, Lucifer went to work and as he went about his day, he couldn't get Eleanor's confession out of his mind. She didn't know what love was! It wasn't his best thing either, she was the one who was supposed to be good enough to help him learn, and she had no idea what love was! He was gonna have to show her. That's all there was to it. In some ways, he was just as lost as she was, but he would try.

"Steve!" He called one of the other demons. "I need you to watch things here. I have to go out for a bit."

"But you have a meeting in few minutes," Steve reminded him. "Can't it wait?"

"No, it can't wait!" Lucifer snapped. "Delay the meeting! It won't kill anyone! I have something much more important to do!"

"Well, all right," Steve sighed. "I'll try."

"Don't try," Lucifer told him, his eyes flashing red. "Just do it!"

After that, he left his office and headed to his car, driving to a designer outlet by the office building and putting his plan into action. After looking at several dresses in every single color, he picked a sleeveless dress with a black bodice and a skirt made of silver tulle.

"I think I'll have this one," he said.

"You buying this for someone special?" Asked the clerk with a knowing grin.

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Just a minute. Before you ring that up, I need one more thing." He doubted whether he'd be able to find it since it was such an oddly specific item, but to his amazement, he did, at the bottom of the shoe box pile: a pair of sparkly silver kitten heels with diamonds on the toes in Ellie's size.

"Well, that's fortunate," he remarked and brought them to be rung up along with the dress. "There you go. You may ring them up now. And wrap them up pretty, would you please?"

After he paid, he drove home and was glad when Dexter met him at the door. "Don't say anything," he whispered. "Don't shout that I'm here." He handed him the boxes and asked him to put them by Ellie's door, along with a note that he quickly scribbled.

"You got her presents?" Dexter whispered. "What's the occasion?"

"I'm trying to teach Eleanor what love is," Lucifer shrugged. "Cause apparently she has no real idea. At least not when it comes to the romantic kind. That's what she said when I told her I loved her, anyway."

"I'm sorry you were disappointed," Dexter told him. "Especially when it's so hard for you to open yourself up like that."

"No, I'm really not bothered by it," Lucifer shrugged. "She told me that she cared. And she told me how she felt without me and it sounded enough like love, even though she couldn't specifically connect with the emotion. It's a good enough start for me."

"Good," Dexter smiled. "That's very good."

"So you'll leave those by the door for her? Oh, and can you get a table on the roof please? And order something up nice for dinner."

"All right," Dexter nodded. "I'll do that."

"So glad I can depend on you, Dexter," Lucifer replied. "Working with everyone else at the office just makes me realize how truly valuable you are to me."

"Thank you, sir," Dexter grinned.

"You're welcome," Lucifer replied, then headed down the front steps of the mansion, got in his car, and drove back to the office for his meeting.

* * *

"Can we talk, Eleanor?" Lucifer asked, taking her up to the roof of the mansion where he saw to his immense satisfaction that Dexter had followed his instructions about dinner set up to the letter..

"Sure," Ellie nodded as they both sat down. "What's going on? You seem upset."

"No, I'm not upset," Lucifer shook his head. "And you look very nice, by the way," he remarked, eying what she was wearing. It was the dress he'd sent her and he'd been right: black and silver were excellent colors on her. "Thank you for dressing up. When I saw that dress in the window of the boutique, I just thought you'd look so beautiful in it."

"Thanks," Ellie blushed. "I've never been much of a dress person, but I'm glad you like it. And the shoes aren't so bad either. So...what's the occasion? Your note didn't say."

"You're welcome," Lucifer nodded and gave her a grin. "I was just thinking that...about our relationship, you know? Would you...would you like to change it? So you'll actually be able to know what love means?"

"Change it how?" Ellie asked.

"Well, I realize that I've let our relationship be very physical without offering you anything more substantial in exchange," Lucifer told her after clearing his throat. "I was thinking that tonight could be the first of many...dates."

"You mean like going out to restaurants and stuff?" Ellie asked with a grin. "That's cool. But we don't need to stop the sex. I'm getting good at that."

"Yes," Lucifer nodded and put his napkin in his lap, grinning when his eyes were averted. "You certainly are."

The salads were brought out and they ate in silence for a few seconds before Ellie said something that nearly made him choke. "What do you want with my aunt? I was snooping around in the drawers of one of the rooms when I saw a bunch of papers with Aunt Selina's name on them that were really old and crumbly."

"Well, that question just came out of nowhere, didn't it?" He asked. "It was part of a deal between her and me. Standard thing, nothing to worry about."

"I'm not accusing you of being untoward," Ellie assured him. "I'm just curious. Did you do something really bad for her?"

"Your aunt was a special case," he told her. "It wasn't so much that she wanted something bad out of nowhere. I just had to tell her it was all right to do things I could tell she already wanted to do."

"Like..." Ellie made a rolling motion with her hand. Clearly she wasn't going to let this go.

"I don't know if I can tell you," he said. "That might violate Devil/supplicant confidentiality and I've never violated anyone's privacy before. I like to think I run a legit operation, Eleanor. Now, about what love is..."

"Did she kill anyone?" Ellie asked. "Did you get her tons of money? Make her famous? Tell me! That contract looked to be a gazillion years old, and I don't think she'd care. I won't tell her that you said anything if you won't."

Lucifer sighed. This wasn't the sort of dinner conversation he'd been planning on having. "Fine," he got out. "If I tell you about your aunt, can we not talk business anymore after."

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "I promise."

"Well it's not something that I'll forget, that's for sure," he began...

 _She'd been on his radar from the beginning. Her whole life. Not because she herself was bad. No. She was good, the granddaughter of two of the most sinfully proud people he'd ever seen. Their neglect had also led their daughter, Selina's mother, into slothful and gluttonous behavior, including two attempts at suicide, after which, her daughter had discovered her, lying still and nearly dead._

 _So he shouldn't have been surprised when she'd committed one murder. Then another. And then fled to Europe to engage in completely hedonistic behavior that had made him proud._

 _He'd caught up with her around 1922, after hours at the American-Western themed bar where she worked as a waitress and occasional entertainer. He came in for a drink as she wiped the bar down._

 _"Can I have a beer?"_

 _"We're closed," she told him. "You'll have to come back tomorrow."_

 _"Well, if we can't drink here, what about your apartment?" He asked._

 _That made the blonde head pop up and look at him with wide eyes. Then she looked him over, a grin curving her lips. "Okay," she said. "I guess I could. I have nothing better to do tonight."_

 _"Seraphine Gardner?" He questioned. "Is that what you're calling yourself now?" He asked. "I don't blame you for wanting to change your name and hide out somewhere else after those murders you committed in America."_

 _"Oh, my god!" She cried and dropped the glass she was cleaning. Then she lowered her voice. "How the hell do you know about that? Are you a cop? Are you here to drag me back to face charges? I'm not going quietly if you are."_

 _"Oh, I know that," he told her and held out his hand. "Lucifer Morningstar. Sorry it took me so long to introduce myself. And from the name, I'm sure you can tell that the last thing I want is to drag you home to face so-called 'justice' for crimes that were totally justified."_

 _"Damn right they were," she nodded. "Those bastards cheated on me after they said they loved me. Was I just supposed to leave that alone?"_

 _"Of course not," Lucifer replied. "And after the hard life you've had, you deserve to let off steam. Anything goes wrong, you do what you feel like."_

 _"Oh, I don't know..." she said, hesitating._

 _"Don't tell me you're afraid of human law enforcement," he scoffed. "You know you're powerful enough to avoid them."_

 _"Well , obviously," she nodded. "But the vampires have a guy. You kill too many people and he comes after you and kills you horribly."_

 _"What if my end of the deal is to make sure that doesn't happen?" Lucifer asked. "What if I make sure he doesn't catch you?"_

 _"What would be in it for you?" She asked. "You gonna take me to hell after?"_

 _"No, dear," he shook his head. "You've already been through hell. I know that. The people who caused it are now trapped in the pride circle and forced to turn into wolves every night and rip people apart with intact memories about what they did the next day. It's really doing a number on their minds, I assure you."_

 _"Well, good..." Selina had said. "But that still doesn't tell me what you want from me."_

 _"Well, anger like yours could cause complete and utter chaos, couldn't it?" He grinned. "Especially if there's no one to keep you in check. I like chaos. I think it's fun." He zapped up the contract and laid it out for her. "So...what do you think?"_

 _"I think i would be frightened by making a deal with Satan, but I'm already a vampire, so...what the hell?" Selina smiled and signed the contract. "It'll be nice to let some of the anger go. I deserve that."_

 _"Yes," Lucifer nodded and took the signed contract, folding it up and sticking it in his jacket pocket. "You sure do."_

 _"Oh," she plunked a full glass down on the table. "Here. You seem like double whiskey kind of guy."_

 _"Thanks," he smiled. "Here's to you."_

 _She grinned back. "No problem."_

"And the next seven years, when your aunt became the Lonely Heart Killer, were more exciting than I ever could have hoped," Lucifer grinned. "She really did have the worst taste in men. We kept in contact and even the few she introduced me to were just awful. I knew they wouldn't end well. But it meant more bodies, so I couldn't yell at her too much."

"You made Aunt Selina murder a bunch people?" Ellie asked, wide-eyed.

"I didn't _make_ her do anything," Lucifer shook his head. "She did it. I just told her it was all right when no one had ever told her to follow her passions or be in touch with her negative emotions before." He shook his head. "Her grandparents were just terrible people."

"I don't think I want to talk about this anymore," Ellie shook her head.

"I thought you wouldn't, which is why I didn't want to bring it up in the first place," Lucifer told her. "What more pleasant thing should we talk about instead?"

"Thank you for this dress," she said. "I love it. And dinner, too."

"You're welcome," he smiled. "It's my pleasure." He then leaned across the table and kissed her until the waiter that came with their soup cleared his throat and they began the second course.

* * *

"Okay," Selina breathed as Dorian pushed into her with a mighty thrust and she nearly fell off the sofa. "Okay, that's it. We have to stop."

"Why?" Dorian asked. "I'm having a good time. "Aren't you? I thought you liked sex."

"Are you kidding?" Selina asked and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Honey, I love sex, but...I wonder about it this time. It feels...odd."

"Odd how?" Dorian asked.

"Well, we've been off and on with it for the last few days," Selina remarked. "It just...it doesn't seem novel or exciting, even if we _are_ in a different room." She sat up. "Be honest: are you having sex with me because you want to have sex with me, or because it's the only way you can think of to avoid emotional turmoil you don't wanna face?"

"Oh, don't be stupid," Dorian chuckled. "What would make you think it's that?"

"Cause I'm the champ!" Selina replied. "I am the champ of using sex to avoid uncomfortable emotion. It's probably why every single marriage I've had has failed. And I don't want you to feel like you can't talk to me, so...what's going on? Do you miss running the demon government? Was that a good outlet for you?"

"Yes," Dorian nodded. "It really made me feel like I was doing something with myself. But now I don't have that. I've got nothing." He then gave Selina a look. "And when I say 'nothing', i mean in terms of useful ways to spend my time," he said. "Stuff like work. You are definitely not nothing."

"I get your drift," Selina assured him and reached for a blanket to wrap around herself. "Don't worry."

She was able to hold out a little longer until Dorian fell asleep, then she dressed and drove straight to Dorian's old offices. He wouldn't be proud of what she was doing, but she felt she had no choice.

* * *

"Speak of me!" Lucifer cried as he turned around in his chair and saw her. "You know, Eleanor and I were just talking about you yesterday. She found your contract among my things and wanted to know about it. I hope you don't mind."

"No," Selina shook her head. "Whatever. That was _years_ ago. I don't even think about it anymore."

"Don't you?" He grinned. "Not even when it humiliated your father-in-law, just as I promised, and to this day, you are still one of the most notorious vampires to ever exist, even if a majority don't know the one they fear is you personally? You don't think of it at all?"

"Maybe a little," Selina shrugged. "And yeah..to this day, Mikael's still so pissed off. It's funny, even if it did finally get me killed. But anyway, that's not what I came to talk about."

"What can I do for you?" Lucifer questioned. "Another deal?"

"No!" Selina shook her head. "Just...can you give Dorian his job back?"

"You know I can't," Lucifer shook his head. "I'm in charge now."

"Okay, if not his _exact_ job, something for him to do? To get him out of the house?" Selina begged. "Starting as a janitor and working his way through the ranks? Anything will do!"

"Why are you so insistent?" Lucifer asked. "I thought you'd be happy!" He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Don't tell me you've managed to ruin another relationship, darling. Even though he's a demon, he's the best you've ever had."

"Oh, I know," Selina nodded and crossed one leg over the other. "And it's not a problem, per se, but...he's bored. I can tell. All we're doing now is having sex. Every time he can't think of some way to occupy his time, it's down on the mattress. And while as you know, I have no problem with sex in itself, now it's just starting to lose its charm because it doesn't stop. It's mechanical. There's no real passion behind it."

"Oh, you poor dear," Lucifer shook his head. "Whatever will you do?" It was then that an attractive young demon came into the room to hand Lucifer a set of papers. Noticing Selina was there, he begged her pardon and gave her a small bow before leaving. He was very well-made, she noticed.

"Why don't you have a go with him?" Lucifer suggested. "You're already thinking about it. I can tell."

"No, I'm _not_!" Selina shook her head. "Dorian and I are fine! He just...he just needs a damn job!"

"Or you do," Lucifer said. "What if I gave _you_ the job?"

"I don't want it," Selina told him. "I came for Dorian and either he gets the job or neither of us do!"

"I'll give you time to think about it," Lucifer told her. "When you've finally made a decision, here's my number." He wrote a number down on a card and handed it to her.

"I'm not gonna call you," She insisted and got to her feet. She had to get out of here. _Now_.

"Yes, you will," Lucifer waved as she made her way to the door. "And I'll be waiting by the phone."


	31. I Don't Wanna Be Anywhere Else

"Okay, so tell me how this whole 'cocoon' thing works," Sarah requested of Josh as they looked down at their incredibly squirmy daughter. According to Josh, that level of squirminess, her constant fussing, and what seemed like an unusual rash breaking out all over her body meant that it was time for her to go into her cocoon and later emerge a full-grown demon. "Is it complicated? What happens?"

"It's not hard," Josh shook his head. "Hannah's body will make a cocoon and she'll stay in there until she grows into her teens. Then she'll come out and be full grown."

"How long will it take?" Sarah asked. "Years?"

"Oh, no," Josh shook his head. "A week at most. And it won't hurt her."

Sarah shook her head. "I...this is just amazing. It seems like she's been a baby for hardly any time at all."

Josh shook his head. "It's true that she's turned a lot earlier than most children, but they change when they change. Maybe it's her hybrid status that sped things up."

They went into the bedroom and Sarah picked Hannah up out of her crib, gasping as her daughter's skin hardened and changed and soon, she was holding a cocoon rather than a child. She then put it back in the bed and left the room.

"Wait," Josh turned around, went back into the room, and put the cocoon on the floor rather than in the crib. "There, that's better. That way, nothing will break when the cocoon is expanding cause Hannah is growing."

"Right," Sarah nodded. "I don't know why I didn't think of that."

"It's fine, you don't have to," Josh told her and gave her a hug. "This whole thing is new to you and that's fine. Allow yourself to be okay with not knowing things."

"I'll try," Sarah sighed and rested her head on his shoulder while he threaded his fingers through her hair. "It's just that...I'm her mother! How am I supposed to help her and be the knowledgeable one if I have no knowledge?"

"That's what we'll do for the next week," Josh smiled. "I'll get you up to speed and we'll fix up her room and stuff so that when she emerges, she won't be a teenager stuck in a baby's room."

"Good idea," Sarah smiled. "I really need something to occupy my mind, otherwise, I am going to go stir crazy."

"Well, we wouldn't want that," Josh told her. "Not when it can be easily avoided."

* * *

So the next week was spent fixing up Hannah's room, although it was not easy because Sarah kept getting distracted by the ever-expanding cocoon, especially when it started shaking and glowing.

"It's normal for it to do that, right?" She asked as she clutched Josh's arm, her eyes wide. "Please tell me that's normal."

"Yes," Josh nodded. "I promise. It just means that it's nearly time for her to come out."

"Oh, good," Sarah took a deep breath. "I don't think I could take much more of this." She sat down hard in her daughter's new desk chair, her eyes locked on the cocoon as it cracked and Hannah emerged, tripping on her way out and falling on her face.

"Oh, honey!" Josh cried as they both ran to help her up. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Hannah nodded. "Let's just say grace is not one of my best qualities." She smiled. "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad."

"Hi, Hannah," Josh grinned and gave her a blanket to wrap around herself while Sarah tried not to stare as if she had no idea what to do with her.

"Do you...do you want a shower?" She asked at last. "Then we can get you some new clothes and some food in your stomach."

"Yeah, good," Hannah nodded. "Thanks. I think I would like that."

They got her to the shower and when the water was running and the door was closed, Josh put a hand on Sarah's arm. "You handled that well."

Sarah gave a weak chuckle. "Well, when one daughter becomes the mother of the devil's children, another daughter going from baby to teenager in less than week is pretty easy."

"Yep," Josh nodded as he took her hand. "You have a point."

* * *

Several loud crashes and lots of yelling woke both Ellie and Lucifer one morning. That noise was followed by the noise of the twins screaming.

"Okay, what the hell's going on?" Ellie asked and clutched at Lucifer. She'd decided to spend the night in Lucifer's bed, and now she was glad she'd made that choice. "It can't be burglars, can it? What should we do?"

"You go try and calm the twins," Lucifer ordered, his eyes narrowed, his voice steady and his touch comforting as he put a hand on her shoulder. "I think I know what's going on. It's nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked.

"Yes," Lucifer nodded, grabbing her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze and kissing her. "It's just someone else who works for me. She's a bit temperamental."

"Ah," Ellie said, not feeling better. "Okay."

She left the room and felt very relieved when she saw Dexter, who followed her to the twins' room to help calm them down.

"What's going on?" Ellie asked. "Are things okay?"

"Yes," Dexter nodded. "It's just Maeve. Someone must've forgotten to tell her about the move."

"Who's that?" Ellie asked. "I spent some time in hell and I never heard of her."

"Well, that's because you didn't need to," Dexter explained. "Only people who do anything wrong see her. People who need to be punished. She's the boss's most competent torturer, which is why I'm shocked she's here and not back in hell. There's not much use for her here."

"Well, I hope Lucifer will tell her to go back then," Ellie squared her shoulders. "I can't have this racket happening every morning." She paused. "Maybe I should go down and introduce myself."

"I don't know," Dexter shook his head. "You might want to wait until the boss can prepare her for you."

"Oh, to heck with that!" Ellie said and strode off as Dexter's mouth opened and closed on a protest that there was no point in making.

When Ellie stormed down the stairs, she found a woman she'd never seen before doing battle with Lucifer and some of the other demons while making a mess out of absolutely everything. "Excuse me!" She yelled.

But that didn't seem to make any difference, so she said it again, this time pulling the weapon the woman held, a nasty looking thing that might have been a mace, out of her hand at the same time. "Excuse me!" She yelled again.

This time, the woman stopped and snatched the weapon away, glaring at her.

"Eleanor," Lucifer said. "Go back upstairs with Dexter. I can handle this."

"Yeah," the woman Dexter had called Maeve replied. "I don't like being scolded by the boss's whores!"

"Well, that's not what I am," Ellie replied and gave her a zap so that she could no longer speak. "I'm more than that. I'm just as much your boss as he is and you'll treat me that way. Now, my children are trying to sleep, so if you will kindly find some other way to deal with whatever negative emotions you happen to be feeling, preferably one that's quieter, I will give you your voice back. If not...well, silence is golden, isn't it?"

"I would do as she says, Maeve," Lucifer advised, struck with a sense of awe as he witnessed yet another side of his Eleanor. "Cause she's right, you know. Nothing is official yet, but she _is_ just as much your boss as I am. And you'd _never_ talk to me like that, would you?"

Maeve continued to swear wordlessly and make crude hand gestures, but didn't seem repentant at all.

"Should I turn her back?" Ellie questioned.

"No, Lucifer sighed. "I think being like this for a little bit will be good for her. Could you...could you freeze her at a;;? It's kind of annoying to watch her babble on like that, even if I can't hear a word she says."

"Yes," Ellie nodded and froze the demon. "See? Simple." She blew on her finger like a gun. "I love magic."

"So you really are a vampire-witch hybrid," Lucifer smiled and led her back upstairs to check on Dexter and the twins. "Interesting. I mean, not that I thought you were lying of course, but it's so cool to see it in action."

"Yep," Ellie nodded. "And if I kill someone, I'll become a werewolf at next full moon."

"Wow," Lucifer chuckled. "I'm...well, I sure know how to pick them, don't I?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded and took his hand. "I'm not a demon, but i can get shit done."

"Everything back in order?" Dexter questioned as they strode into the nursery. "Sounds like it."

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Just Maeve stirring up trouble, but I bet you already knew that. I don't know why she came. She's going to be miserable here. And if it was to be my guard, I have others." He sighed. "We'll find something to do with her, I guess," he decided at last. "It'll be easier than trying to get her to go home."

"Yeah, we'll find something for her to do with herself," Ellie agreed. "No use throwing away good help."

* * *

Junior knocked on the door of the mansion, looked at the invitation he'd received to come to lunch, and then waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the door opened and he gasped as he found himself face to face with a woman who resembled an Amazon, with dark skin, hair, and eyes. She didn't seem to be happy to see him and Junior really felt like he wasn't welcome, even though he held the invitation out to her and tried to explain, but she cut him off with her own ideas about why he was there.

"Are you selling something?" She asked and grabbed him by the throat before throwing him backwards. "We don't need to buy anything! Go away!"

"No, no, I was invited!" He said and thrust the invitation at her after getting to his feet. "My daughter wanted me to come, so here I am."

"Oh," Maeve grinned and pulled Junior inside again. "How fun! I'm a little out of practice, but whatever you've done, I'm sure you'll pay for it! If your daughter is who I think she is, I have more respect for her now that she's given me someone to torture like this. So what did you to do to piss her off?" The door then slammed shut behind him in an ominous way as she stared him down and waited for him to talk.

"I-what?" Junior asked as she grabbed him by the tie he was wearing and dragged him through the house when he didn't talk fast enough for her liking. "I was invited! Did you see the invitation?" He began hissing and struggling and finally zapped himself out of the tie.

"There," he said. "That's better."

"Seriously?" She crossed her arms and scoffed. "Magic powers? Why didn't I see that coming? I could smell it on you the second I opened the door! And you got vampire smell on you too! Those smells don't mingle well at all, let me tell you."

Junior growled and advanced on the demon, pushing her against the wall. "You're covered in blood," he told her and licked some off her neck. "And some of it's fresh! It even covers your horrible demon smell!"

He was slapped hard in return. "Touch me again, you disgusting creature, and I will kill you," Maeve returned. "I mean it."

Junior put a hand on his cheek. He hadn't fed yet that day. And this one...she smelled good! And he'd tasted a little of her, but she wanted more! Every drop in her until she lay still on the floor! He advanced toward her again and she kicked him in the face, sending him sprawling on the ground.

"What did I say about touching me again?" She hissed. "You don't listen very well. But I don't mind that. It just gives me more reason to hurt you. And I like that." She laughed.

It was the laughter that did it. Junior found his strength, got to his feet, and gave Maeve a good, hard push. "All I want is to have lunch with my daughter and you're making this unreasonably difficult for me," he told her through his teeth. "Now, get out of my way."

She landed on her bottom just as Dexter came upon them. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he apologized to Junior. "We were having problems in the kitchen, but they're fixed now. Come with me."

"Thank you," Junior told him. "I would love to." He then turned to Maeve. "I hope we don't have to meet again," he told her. "Once is enough."

"I agree," Maeve replied. "Bye!"

Dexter hurried Junior away to the living room where Ellie was sitting with the twins.

"You ran into Maeve, didn't you?" She asked her father knowingly. "Sorry about that. We told her she didn't need to guard the door, but she's always spoiling for a fight."

"It's fine," Junior shrugged and took a seat next to her. "I got through it all right. Where's Lucifer?"

"He's at the office," Ellie explained. "I thought you wouldn't mind that so much."

"No," Ellie shook his head. "Not really."

"Can I get anyone anything?" Dexter asked, looking specifically at Junior. "You want a drink?"

"Yes," Junior nodded. "I would love a beer."

"You want anything, Miss Ellie?" Dexter asked. "I know you have your hands full there."

"No thanks, Dexter," Ellie shook her head. "I'm good for the moment."

Dexter nodded and went to get the beer, and when he was gone, Junior turned to his daughter.

"Did I just hear you referred to by someone as 'Miss Ellie'?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I'm their boss so that's how they talk to me. I've been trying to ease Dexter into more casual forms of address, but it hasn't worked."

"Ah," Junior nodded. "Good plan." He paused. "You seem all right, which is good. I've had some dreams that have made me think otherwise."

"It was a bit weird at first," Ellie admitted. "But I'm adjusting, to the point where I couldn't imagine living anywhere else."

"Which is good since you're probably stuck here," Junior replied before patting Vincent on the head. "And these are the babies, aren't they? Beautiful children...but I shouldn't be surprised at all."

Ellie blushed. "Ah, thank you, Daddy. Yes, these are your grandchildren, Vincent and Valerie. Now, which one do you want?"

"Is one better with people than the other?" Junior asked. "Cause if so, I pick that one."

"No, they're both equally good with people," Ellie assured him. "Why don't I start you with Valerie, though."

"All right," Junior nodded and took the little baby on his lap. She studied him intensely and then sneezed on him which made him jump.

"Are you okay?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah," Junior nodded. "I'm good. Just...just my first time with a baby in a while. That's all."

"Well, if you're nervous, you don't have to hold onto her forever," Ellie said and reached for her daughter. "It's okay."

"No," Junior shook his head and actually held the little girl closer to himself. With those big eyes and the spray of dark hair on the top of her head, it was almost like he was looking at baby Ellie again...the one he'd let go because it was too difficult for him. He wouldn't make the same mistake again. "No," he repeated and kissed her hair. "I think...I think I'll keep her if you don't mind. At least until my beer comes." He then reached out to take his grandson's hand. "And then I'll take Vincent after that."

"All right," Ellie nodded, not missing what was going on at all. "Fine with me, Daddy."


	32. Bringing People Together

"I got here as soon as I could!" Ellie told her mother when Sarah let her in the house. "Is Hannah really grown up already? That was quick!" She paused. "Of course, I grew up quick, too, but we all know that wasn't for a typical reason."

She then looked at the young woman on the sofa with the curly brown hair and blue-green eyes. "Hi," she told her, coming to sit down beside her. "Are you Hannah?"

"Yeah," Hannah nodded. "And you...are you Ellie?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I'm your sister!"

They hugged and then Ellie took Hannah's hand. "Sorry I haven't been around. Have you been told about my situation?"

"You mean that Satan fell in love with you and you had his babies and now you live in that big house down the street?" Hannah asked. "Yeah, I heard about that. It looks awesome! Can I come visit?"

"Sure, if you want to," Ellie nodded. "I would love that!"

"We have to make sure nothing bad will happen to you first," Josh said to Hannah.

"Oh, nothing will," Ellie assured him. "I wouldn't let it. Besides, Junior came to visit me and the twins the other day and he came out of it all right." She paused and reconsidered. "Well, he came out _alive_ , anyway."

"That's a good point," Josh nodded. "Even so, I'd like for us all to go at once before anyone else visits individually so we know what we're up against, okay?"

"What if I take Hannah and stick to her like glue?" Ellie offered. "I promise I won't let anything bad happen to her."

"Yeah, please, Daddy?" Hannah begged. "Please?"

Josh hesitated and then turned to Sarah. "What do you think?" He asked.

"I think we should let her go," Sarah decided. "Ellie won't let anything bad happen to her sister."

"All right," Josh conceded. "But Ellie Bean? Do me a favor and make sure your... _he_ is not home before you invite your sister, all right? At least for the first time."

"No problem, Daddy," Ellie agreed.

"Why do I have to wait to meet the devil?" Hannah questioned as Josh began to regret how up front they'd been with her about where Ellie was. "Why can't I meet him now?"

"Because I would just feel a lot more comfortable if you didn't," Josh replied.

"What do you think?" Hannah asked Ellie.

"Well, honestly, if he knows you're with me and that you mean something to me, he's gonna keep his hands off," Ellie explained. "He hasn't even expressed an intent to kill my male jogging buddy and you think he would by now. But if Dad's not comfortable having you meet him yet, it might be best to wait."

"Thank you," Josh told her.

"But I can still visit as long as he's not there?" Hannah asked.

"Yes," Josh nodded. "As long as your sister is there and he's not, you can go and visit." He flushed a little and looked at Sarah. "Is that all right?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

"What an awesome house!" Hannah remarked as she stood in front of Lucifer and Ellie's mansion. "I can't believe you get to live in there! You're so lucky!"

"If you think that's great, wait until you see _inside_!" Ellie smiled and took her hand, leading her into the house. Thankfully, Maeve was on some mission for Lucifer so the sheer terror that Hannah would probably experience meeting her would be delayed. She let Hannah look around the entry way for a few minutes before Dexter came upon them and smiled.

"Is this your sister, Miss Ellie?" He asked. "I'm so happy to meet her." He then gave Ellie a confused look as Hannah ran to hide behind her.

"Is that a demon?" She asked. "Will he hurt me?"

"No!" Ellie assured her. "I mean, he's a demon, but he's a _nice_ demon. Probably the nicest one in the whole house and the first friend I ever had in this whole mess." She paused. "And if you're that scared of Dexter, Dad was probably right about having you wait to meet Lucifer."

"I'm not scared!" Hannah defended herself as she moved away from her sister. "Just a bit nervous! Dad put a bunch of creepy thoughts about him in my head. It's his fault!" She trhen faced Dexter and held out her hand. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "It's just that I've never met anyone that works for the devil before. It's good that you're nice. My name's Hannah."

"Hello, Hannah," Dexter smiled. "It's nice to meet you. Are you hungry? Can I get you a drink?"

"I wouldn't mind a soda if you've got it, please," Hannah requested. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Dexter replied and strode off.

"Well, that was weird," Hannah whispered. "But I liked it."

"I thought it was weird at first too, being served like that," Ellie agreed. "But you just get used to it after a while."

"What do you do for fun around here?" Hannah questioned.

"Well, there's a bowling alley in the basement, but it's at the bottom of a very twisty staircase that I almost fell down once and the only reason why I didn't break my neck was cause Lucifer caught me and carried me down the rest of the way," Ellie sighed. "So we might just have to wait to do that."

"Couldn't you just zap yourself down to the bowling alley and skip the stairs entirely?" Hannah questioned. "Or do you want to be carried?"

"Well, there _is_ a certain thrill in being carried," Ellie nodded. "But if you really want to bowl, we could use magic to get down the stairs for sure. Or we could use the pool, or the game room, or..."

"Bowling," Hannah decided. "Then a dip in the pool. But first I have to wait for my drink."

"All right," Ellie nodded.

It didn't take long for Dexter to come with her drink and then the girls zapped themselves to the bowling alley.

"Who's 'big crybaby'?" Hannah questioned when she saw the names on the scoreboard.

"Oh, that's Lucifer," Ellie told her. "He was being annoying at the time so that's what I wrote down."

Hannah's eyes widened. "He lets you call him by his first name?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "And he calls me Eleanor. What did you think? That I had to address him as 'His Highness, the Prince of Darkness' or something?"

"Well, yeah," Hannah nodded. "Kind of." Then she changed the subject. "Can I go first?"

"Yeah, sure," Ellie agreed. "Knock yourself out."

They bowled a couple of games, then headed to the pool, and had some food and after the plates were empty and taken to the kitchen, Ellie looked at the clock. "Did Dad have a time he wanted you to be back?" She questioned. "I figure that since he was nervous about you coming here to begin with, he wouldn't want you out for too long."

Just then, Hannah's phone rang and she rolled her eyes and answered it. "Hi, Daddy. Yes, I'm fine. Ellie's been looking out for me. No, her husband is not here. Yeah, you know, she figured as much. Fine, we'll be on our way in a minute."

She sighed and got off the phone, giving Ellie a hug. "Dad says I have to go home now."

"I thought so," Ellie nodded. "But he's not an unreasonable guy. Once he finds out this visit went well, I'm sure he'll let you come back and stay longer."

"Yeah, I hope so," Hannah grinned. "Cause I think that when we were walking to the pool, I saw a closed door with the words **movie theater** on it."

Ellie nodded. "I have yet to see what that room's like myself. I'll ask Lucifer one of the next times I see him. And I can send you pictures."

"Yes, please!" Hannah nodded. "Do that!"

Then they zapped Hannah home and Ellie left her in their relieved father's care before she went home and tried to get through the movie theater door, even though it needed a key and she didn't have one.

* * *

"You can't let Christopher keep living in the yard!" Sybil told Klaus as she stared out at her son from the back window. "He listens to you! Use that sway that you have with him to get him to come inside!"

"Why?" Klaus asked. "He's happy and it's not going to kill him!"

"There's going to be a big storm tonight and I don't want him to be electrocuted," Sybil replied. "Even if it won't hurt him, it'll still be very painful. And how long has it been since he's washed his clothes or had a bath? He's not an animal! He shouldn't be living like one."

Klaus opened his mouth to protest as she headed outside and then just decided to follow her and help her instead.

"What do you guys want?" Christopher asked. He was dirty and smelly, and even Klaus had to admit that at this point, it would be good to get him inside, even if it was just for a quick wash.

"We just thought you might want to take a bath," Sybil suggested. "Wouldn't having a soak in a warm bath for an hour or so be nice?"

"I was going to bathe," Christopher told her. "I'm not an idiot." He pointed. "There's a creek back there and everything. All I need from you is some soap and something to put it on."

"Okay," Klaus nodded. "We'll get that for you. And would you like some new clothes, too?"

"Sure," Christopher even gave him a tiny smile while not meeting his mother's eyes. "Thanks, Dad."

"Way to help him ignore me!" Sybil huffed as Klaus pulled her toward the house. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"I'm on the side of us being a family!" Klaus whispered impatiently. "We have to ease him into doing what you want. We can't force it. That won't work. And the fact that he actually wants to be clean is progress, even if he's not using a bathtub, right? He's not totally uncivilized."

"Yeah," Sybil sighed. "I guess so."

* * *

But she was stubborn and determined to have her way. She was going to get Christopher inside, bathe him, and put him in nice clothes if it killed her. She just needed to find a good reason.

It didn't take long for her to pick one, something she was sure would pique Christopher's interest and bring him inside.

"What do you want, Mom?" He groaned when he saw her approach his tent. "I told you that I'm not ready to go inside yet. Can't you respect that?"

"Well, I'm not asking you to live in the house," she informed him. "It's just that...I've invited my father to come and meet you. Don't you want to meet more of your family?"

"Is he really coming?" Christopher asked suspiciously.

"Yes," Sibyl nodded and showed him the text message exchange on her phone. "See? There you go. Now, I think you should take a bath and put on some clean clothes before he comes. Don't you?"

"I _knew_ this was a sneaky trick to get me to take a bath!" Christopher growled. "I knew it!"

"Well, okay," Sibyl nodded as Christopher took off toward the house. "But I know and you know that if I had just asked you to, you wouldn't do it. And you saw that your grandfather really _is_ coming."

"That's why I'm actually going in the house and not running away from home," Christopher told her severely. "And he knows about my freakish nature, right? That won't be a surprise to him?"

"He knows about your unique genetic make-up, yes," Sibyl assured him. "We won't have to waste any time talking about that."

Slightly mollified by the fact that his grandfather would not call him a freak the second he saw him, Christopher consented to take an actual bath in a tub and put on jeans, socks, and a shirt. Then he combed his hair and after he finished, he went out to meet his grandfather, but when he was nearly to the living room, he paused, just looking at Jeffrey and his parents smiling and talking.

That gave him pause. He couldn't go out there. He couldn't risk being judged, even though his mother had promised that his grandfather knew everything about him. He sat on the floor looking down at his lap for several minutes until a voice over his head made him start.

"Hi," it said. "Are you Christopher?"

He looked up into his grandfather's eyes. "Yeah," he nodded. "Yeah, I'm...I'm Christopher." Then he felt his heart sink when, as Jeffrey reached out his hand to take his, Christopher felt his nerves kick in. He began hissing and spitting and even gave his grandfather's hand a good, hard bite.

He had no doubt what his face looked like now: Red eyes, scars on his face from all the times he scratched at himself during the early days of his transformations because they were so uncomfortable...the claw-like nails that he still hadn't entirely gotten under control... and as he heard Jeffrey swear, he flinched and prepared to be hit or scolded. Jeffrey did hit him lightly but he ran away before he could apologize and locked himself in his room.

"Everything all right?" Sybil asked her father. Then she saw his hand. "What in the world happened there?" She asked. "Are those bite marks? Oh, Daddy, I'm sorry!"

"Don't be," Jeffrey replied. "The kid seemed terrified of me. After all that time in the cave, I don't blame him."

"Well, let's get you bandaged up," Sybil sighed. "Maybe we can get him to come out later."

"Yeah," Jeffrey nodded. "I hope so." He sighed. "I hit him. I didn't mean to, but he frightened me and it was just...it was a reflex."

Sybil sighed and gave her father a hug. "I know it's a bit of a shock, Daddy, even if you know what you're up against. I'll explain to him that it was all an accident and that you didn't really mean to hurt him."

"You will?" Jeffrey asked. "Thank you. Cause I...I really do want to get to know him. The kid seems like he could use a friend."

"What happened?" Klaus asked. "Where's Christopher? Did he decide not to join us?"

"He went that way," Jeffrey pointed out the direction Christopher had run. "I think he's locked in his room."

"He had an attack of nerves," Sybil explained. "I think Daddy made him nervous and he bit him and now he's hiding because of it."

"I'll go talk to him," Klaus said. "Jeffrey, would you like to come with me?"

"No," Jeffrey shook his head. "I think I've caused enough damage for one visit. Why don't I stay with Sybil instead? That might be best."

"It's not your fault," Sybil reiterated to him as they went back to the living room. "I think it's really hard for _anyone_ to reach him. Believe me, I've tried. I hope we find someone some day."

"Yeah," Jeffrey nodded, haunted by the fact that his own grandson was scared of him. "I hope so too."

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Junior asked when he came out of the bathroom to find Maeve crawling in through an open living room window. "Can't you at least use the door and knock like a normal person? Surely even demons have manners! And I don't like the idea of you knowing where I live!"

"Oh, please!" Maeve scoffed and landed on the floor. "You think I'm just gonna come here day and night? I'm not happy about it, but your daughter needed something picked up from this place and since she was busy, I was forced to come instead."

"What does she need? I can get it," Junior offered.

This made Maeve frown. "Why don't you think I can get it myself? I'm more capable than you."

"Well, I just thought you'd want to get in and out as soon as possible," Junior told her. "I know that's what I want. So it'd be quicker to have me get whatever it is than have you wandering around. For all I know, you could steal something!"

Maeve's eye caught a really ugly lamp at the corner of the room and then turned to the sagging sofas covered in plaid. "Yeah..." she scoffed. "There's a lot worth stealing here. That's for sure. Now, where's her damn fish? She said she didn't bring it at first cause she wasn't sure how it would fit in her life, but now she wants it."

"In her room," Junior said. "And I know that if I don't get it myself, it won't make it out of here alive."

"It's just a fish," Maeve scoffed. "I should be doing more important things like torturing the wicked. Not babysitting some fish!"

"Well, don't get mad at me!" Junior yelled. "It's not like I wanted you to break into my house and get Ellie's fish. In fact, I would have preferred it if she had called me and asked me to bring it myself."

"I would have preferred that too!" Maeve spat. "I really need to hit something. I can't just stand here!" She then proceeded to break all his windows while Junior looked on in open-mouthed protest.

"What in the hell did you do that for?" He asked. "You're some sort of psycho, aren't you?"

"I torture bad people in hell," Maeve replied. "What do you think?"

"Well, you're just lucky I can fix the windows on my own!" Junior told her, doing just that and then sending her up into the air with a flick of his wrist.

Maeve realized too late that this man was the one responsible for all the havoc Eleanor was able to wreak with her. He was the reason she had magic. And he could do just as much damage as Ellie could. Not that she would let him see that it worried her.

"Hey!" She cried as he started to pass underneath her. "I hope you didn't do this as a way of getting a view of anything. I'm wearing pants, remember."

"Well, you don't seem like the type who would mind people showing interest in how you look," Junior surmised. "But don't worry about me; I'll stay away. You're not really my type anyway."

"I'm _everyone's_ type!" Maeve cried, showing her teeth. "I mean, have you _seen_ me?"

"Yes, I have," Junior nodded, looking up at her as she flailed around. "And you're okay. Just not...not good enough." He then snapped his fingers and she fell to the floor.

"Oh, you will pay for that!" She cried and began beating him up. They were in the middle of such an intense battle that they didn't hear Ellie come in through the door.

"Yep," she said when she saw them. "Luci was right to send me over here. I should have just come on my own to start with." She grabbed Fishy's bowl and went to stand over Maeve and her father, giving a loud whistle. "Break it up, you two!" She cried. "Jeez! Maeve, Luci needs you at home. He wonders what's kept you."

"Oh, please tell him," Junior grinned. "And then send me the picture of the look on his face!"

"I don't think so," Ellie replied, not wanting to prolong their fighting. "Maeve, let's just go home."

"Love to," Maeve told her. "Don't want to waste anymore time in this shack anyway."

* * *

Not long after that, Ellie was reading a book in the living room when there was a knock at the door. She put her book down and went to answer it, finding a very pretty blonde on the other side, who seemed irritated by the sight of her.

"Hi," the girl said at last. Actually, she was more accurately a young woman, but she had a baby face. "Who are _you_? _I'm_ on Lucifer's schedule today."

Ellie groaned. This wasn't the first time one of Lucifer's flings had come to the house requesting a tryst. The first time it had shocked her, but now she had script of how to respond pretty much down. "No, you're not on his schedule. Sorry he didn't tell you, but you're not. And he's not here, so...bye!"

But the blonde just elbowed her aside and forced her way into the house. "I don't think so," she said. "If he wants to end things, I want to hear it from him, not from you."

"Well, he's working right now, so he can't really talk to anyone," Ellie replied firmly. "Go away!"

When the woman didn't move, Ellie called for Maeve. "I really didn't want to have to do this," she said. "But you really give me no choice, do you?"

"What do you want me to do?" Maeve asked with a grin. "Kill her?"

"Or scare her so she leaves and doesn't come back," Ellie said. "I've tried asking nicely, but it won't work."

"Don't worry," Maeve told her. "She won't trouble you again, boss."

* * *

It was when Lucifer came home from work that he found the body of the woman...skinned and strung up on the wall behind the couch where Ellie and the twins were watching TV.

"What happened there?" He asked. It didn't shock him, of course. He was just curious.

"One of your old flings showed up," Ellie replied. "She was the fifth one. The other ones went quietly when I explained our situation but this one wouldn't listen so I had Maeve deal with her."

"And you told Maeve to skin her alive?" Lucifer asked, eyebrow raised.

"No, I told her to just scare her away," Ellie replied. "No killing! But with Maeve, you gotta take what you can get."

"I'm so sorry my lovers keep coming and hassling you," Lucifer told her. "I would send out some sort of notice, but I don't know how."

"It's all right," Ellie sighed. "I can deal with it. I know you had a life before me."

"But you're the only one now," he assured her. "I hope you know that."

"Yeah, I know," Ellie nodded. "I'm not mad at you. Don't worry."

* * *

But Lucifer still felt bad. He wanted to prove to her that she was the only one in no uncertain terms, and there was only one way he felt he could do that.

"What would you say if I told you I was thinking of marrying Eleanor?" Lucifer asked Dexter, who immediately spit out his drink and began coughing.

Lucifer groaned and hit him on the back. "Stop that!" He demanded. "You can't be of any help to me if you're dying and this is very important!"

"Let me ask: did you just say you wanted to _marry_ Miss Ellie?" Dexter asked. "Like actually marry her? With a wedding?"

"It's not ideal because since she doesn't officially love me yet, it might not mean as much, but I have to prove to her that she's the only one I care about since all my lovers keep showing up and throwing that into doubt," Lucifer sighed. "So...good plan?"

"Does it matter what my answer is?" Dexter asked. "Cause I know you'll do whatever you want anyway."

"True," Lucifer nodded and patted him on the back. "So you do agree! Good man! But don't say a word to her about it, all right? I want it to be a complete secret!"

"All right," Dexter nodded. "She won't hear a thing from me."

"Excellent," Lucifer nodded. "There's one more big thing I have to plan before the wedding happens. But getting it done might be harder than I think."

"What is it?" Dexter asked.

"I need to find some way to get Eleanor's family's permission," Lucifer replied. "I know they already hate me for taking her the way it seems I did, so I want to make it clear that I'm not isolating her. How shall I do that?"

"Well," Dexter shrugged. "I might have an idea."

* * *

"I heard your father came to visit you and the twins the other day," Lucifer told Ellie. "And how was that, Eleanor? Did he treat everyone well?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded and gave him a grin. "Yes, he did."

"Good," Lucifer replied. "Cause I was thinking that since that went so well, we could have a dinner that would bring _all_ your family here so they can get more comfortable with your situation. And plus, I don't want you to feel like I'm isolating you or anything like that."

"Oh, of course I don't think that!" Ellie shook her head. "But thank you. I think I'd like to have a family dinner. It means a lot that you thought of it."

"Well, I know it was a bit of a shock for you to have all my former lovers come to the house and request to have trysts with me as if nothing had changed and this is...this is my way of making it up to you. I promise, I'll get the word out so that won't happen again." He gave her a grin and took her hand in his.

"Thank you," Ellie told him. "I mean, I know that you're the devil and a life time of hedonism and one fling after another is a hard habit to break. I accept that. But it's just...it's good to know that when you say you want a connection with me...that you want us to have a close relationship with me that means something, you're taking it seriously." She kissed him. "I appreciate that."

"It's...it's not a problem," Lucifer told her. "Anything to make you happy."

"Really?" Ellie smiled. "Anything?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded.

"Good, because Brad and his boyfriend John want to go on a double date," she told him. "I think the fact that you're uncomfortable with him being at the house has made Brad want to meet you so he can prove that he's not so bad."

"Well, and now that I know he's otherwise attached, that just might be feasible," Lucifer smiled. "Why don't you invite him over sometime next week."

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked. "That won't be too much socializing for you?"

"No," Lucifer grinned and hugged her. "I love a good party."


	33. His Lovely Black Diamond

"Well isn't this interesting?" Sarah remarked, invitation in hand. "Josh, you were just saying that you wouldn't let Hannah meet Lucifer until we all knew what he was up against, and look at what got dropped off today!"

Josh took the pretty vellum invitation with the gold script and read it over. "Lucifer wants to invite us all to dinner?" He asked. It was unbelievable. "Why would he want to do that?"

"Maybe he wants to make peace," Sarah guessed. "Prove that he's not as bad as we fear by letting us in Ellie's life."

"We should go!" Hannah said. "I mean, am I invited?"

"Yes," Josh nodded. "The invitation is for all three of us."

"And you'll let me go, right?" Hannah asked. "You said that if we all went together, I could meet Lucifer."

"Right, and I won't go back on that," Josh assured her. "I'm just warning you that based on my past experience with him, you might not like what you see."

"I don't know," Hannah shrugged. "Ellie seemed pretty happy when she talked about him."

"Not too happy, I hope," Josh huffed.

"Well, as long as she's happy, that's still good, right?" Sarah questioned.

"Yeah," Josh sighed. "I guess. I just hope things stay that way."

"You know, you don't have to go if you don't want to," Sarah said and ran her fingers through Josh's hair. "If it'll upset you, Hannah and I can go on our own and you can stay home."

Hannah got up and went to peeer at the invitation over her father's shoulder. "Actually, he can't stay home," she corrected. "It specifically says that he has to come."

"I wonder why?" Josh remarked dryly. "Probably so he can kill me and have Ellie all to himself."

"Or not," Sarah said. "It doesn't have to be something that nefarious. Maybe the whole reason why this dinner is happening is because Ellie wants to see you, so if you're not there, then what's the point of it all?"

"You have a point," Josh nodded. "I hate dealing with Lucifer, but I love Ellie, so if she's there, I can stand his company for whatever reason he wants mine."

"It won't be so bad," Hannah promised her father. "We'll have a good time. Ellie will make sure of that. And she'll keep Lucifer in check too. I can sense that."

Just then, the phone rang and Sarah went to answer it. "Junior?" She asked. "What's up? We were invited to a party at Lucifer's mansion. Josh didn't want to go at first, but is because of Ellie."

"You guys are invited too?" Junior asked and then let out a breath. "Oh, thank goodness! I got an invitation too, and I really wasn't looking forward to being in that house alone."

"Why?" Sarah asked. "What's he got against you? It's not like you're a demon."

"No, it's not Lucifer I'm having trouble with," Junior told her, blushing on his end of the line and glad she couldn't see it. "It's someone else. One of the crazy women that works for him."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sarah apologized. "So...are you staying home then?"

"No," Junior replied, his voice full of intensity. "I'm not gonna let her know she's causing me trouble. I'm going to face her."

"Well, be careful," Sarah advised. "Don't get hurt."

"Oh, don't worry," Junior said. "She can't hurt me. She can irritate me, but she can't hurt me."

After she got off the phone with Junior, she got a call from her sister.

"Are you going to a party at Lucifer's?" Selina asked. "I only ask cause Ellie's living with him and all."

"Yeah, we're invited," Sarah confirmed. "But why are you? I mean, I know you're Ellie's aunt, but you're also Lucifer's biggest rival for demon power, right?"

"Well, my relationship with Lucifer is more complicated than that," Selina explained. "So you'll be there?"

"Yeah," Sarah replied. "And I'm glad you will be too."

* * *

"What in the hell have you done to the house?" Ellie cried the day of the party as she found the lights dimmed, the walls painted black, candles everywhere, creepy busts and gargoyle sculptures that made her feel like she was being stared at with every step, and pictures...pictures that looked like they belonged in churches. Horrible pictures of monsters and destruction. "I don't know if I like this new decorating scheme."

"It's only temporary, I assure you," Lucifer replied and put an arm around her. "I just want to see the look on your family's faces when they come in and see it all." He chuckled.

"Why is it so amusing to you to freak my family out?" Ellie questioned. "You know that making them feel like that is why they will continue to be nervous about our whole relationship? I would be friendly instead of creepy for this dinner if I were you."

"I'm plenty friendly," Lucifer assured her. "But not to everyone. I still have a reputation to protect, you know."

"Yeah, okay, so freak out random people and people who are actually bad," Ellie told him. "Not my family. Be nice to my family. Please?"

He turned around and faced her. "If your family decided they didn't want us to be together, would you leave?" He asked.

"Well, no," Ellie shook her head and put her arms around him. "I wouldn't leave, but I hate the idea of having to choose one family or the other. I just want everyone to get along. Why is that such a problematic idea?"

"Why are you asking me that question?" Lucifer asked. "Why don't you ask your family? Josh in particular has been as hostile toward me as he feels I am toward him."

"Please don't make excuses," Ellie begged. "Please? Just promise me that you'll do the best you can to get along with my family when they come, all right? That's not asking too much, is it?"

"Oh, all right," Lucifer nodded. "I'll be nice if they'll be nice."

"No, you'll be nice cause it'll make me happy," Ellie corrected. "Or at least make for a nice evening." She paused. "And would it cheer you up if I told you that it's highly likely that my sister will be coming? Hannah is very eager to meet you."

"So she's nothing like your father?" Lucifer asked, suddenly looking forward to the family coming. "How do you think she'll react to me?"

"She'll find you very intriguing at the very least," Ellie winked and gave him a kiss just as one of the twins started crying and she had to go attend to him. "You like it when people find you intriguing, right?"

"Yes," Lucifer said to himself as she left. "Yes, I do."

* * *

"You haven't said anything to Eleanor, have you?" Lucifer asked Dexter later. "About the wedding, I mean? She's still in the dark?"

"Of course I haven't said anything," Dexter assured him. "You told me not to."

"Good," Lucifer nodded. He walked around the house, checking to see how the dinner was coming along, especially when the clock on the wall told him that everyone would be arriving in just a couple of hours. He didn't have much time.

"Why don't you go to your room and have some quiet time?" Dexter suggested. "You know you won't be doing much good here, and-" he lowered his voice. "And you want to look your best when you ask Josh for Miss Ellie's hand, don't you? The more wholesome you look, the more likely he'll be to say 'Yes'."

"Well, that's very true," Lucifer nodded with a grin. "But you know that even if he denies me, I have plans B, C, and D."

"Good for you for being polite first, though," Dexter grinned. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you," Lucifer replied and decided to head for the bathroom and shower. When he found Ellie dressing, he asked her if she wanted to shower too."

"We don't have much time before the party," she remarked. "So I don't think us taking a shower is a good idea now. At least not together, anyway."

"All right, I'll head for the shower then," Lucifer told her. "And what dress are you wearing? I want to make sure the tie of my suit matches."

"Red," Ellie told him. "I'm going to wear a red dress tonight."

"Lovely," Lucifer grinned and kissed her quickly. "Thank you, my love!" He headed to the shower and turned it on, washed off, and when he came back into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, she had her back to him and her dress was unzipped.

"Well, it doesn't seem like you're wearing a bra under that," he observed and came up behind her to kiss her neck before lightly running his fingers down her back and cupping her bottom for a moment. "You're beautiful," he whispered.

"Thank you," Ellie told him, glad he couldn't see her blush as tingles when through her body at his touch. "Would you zip me up?"

"Of course," Lucifer assured her. "It would be my pleasure." He did just that and then she turned to face him.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, then spanked him. "Now stop dawdling and dress! Do you need me to help with your tie?"

"I'll need help taking it off more than putting it on," he winked. Then he put his suit on and did up his tie, then when Ellie was in the bathroom brushing her hair, he stuck the ring in his pocket before leaving the room and waiting out the rest of the time until his and Ellie's guests arrived.

* * *

"You know, I have to say that I really like your decorating scheme," Hannah told Lucifer. "It's a bit different from when I was at the house the other day, though."

"Yes, I changed it just see the look on your father's face," Lucifer chuckled. "He's so easy to rattle."

"Yeah," Hannah nodded. "I thought he wasn't gonna let me come at first, even though he promised." She paused. "I'm about to ask a serious question and I want an honest answer: do you really love my sister?"

"Yes!" Lucifer nodded. "The whole point of this dinner was to prove that." He leaned closer to her. "If I ask him for your sister's hand in marriage, do you think he'd say 'Yes'?"

"No," Hannah shook her head. "I don't think so, at least not without a lot of convincing. But if you want to elope with her and need another witness besides Dexter, I'm your girl."

Lucifer smiled. "You know, I like you," he told her. "I just might have to start being nice to you too."

"Well, lucky me," Hannah replied after returning his grin. "Speaking of, where _is_ my sister? Or have you been hiding out here so long that you have no idea?"

"Why would I be hiding out?" Lucifer questioned. "What would make you say that?"

Hannah crossed her arms. "Well, you don't seem like the sort of guy who would miss a party unless there was a good reason, so...are you scared to face my dad?"

"Oh, I am afraid of _nothing_ , young lady!" He cried. "Least of all your father."

"Well, then, come with me and say 'Hello'," Hannah encouraged, reaching out for his hand. "Let's get it over with."

They headed to the main living room where his old fling's body had been removed and the wall cleaned, leaving no evidence that it had ever been there. Everyone he'd invited was clustered around his piano with drinks in their hands, talking and laughing like the relatives and old friends that they were. But a quick glance told Lucifer that two people were missing.

"Where is your father and his lovely wife?" He asked Josh. "I sent them invitations too."

"Yes, well, they asked me to convey their regrets and say that if you would like to see them badly enough, they would be willing to reschedule," Josh told him.

"Oh, that's all right," Lucifer shook his head. "I didn't need to see them that badly. I just thought it would be good to have as much of Eleanor's family around as I could get."

"Why?" Ellie asked. "I mean, the fact that they're all here is good enough. Is there more to it than that?"

It was then that Lucifer noticed Selina and Dorian's drinks were empty. "Eleanor, it looks like your aunt could use another rum and Coke and Dorian could use another scotch. Can you go see about that?"

"I think I'd like to stay in here," Ellie replied. "But I'll be glad to call for Dexter."  
"Or we could just get refills ourselves," Selina offered. "It's not that hard to do. The kitchen's not that far away."

Lucifer caught Hannah's eye and mouthed 'Help me'!"

"Why don't we both go to the kitchen and get the refills?" Hannah smiled and urged her very resistant sister toward the kitchen. "Or you could show me that movie theater again!"

"Why would we do that when we have people over?" Ellie questioned. She was very confused. "Hannah, what are you doing?"

"Just go with it, okay?" Hannah asked, pushing Ellie from behind. "I think...I think you should go with it."

"Fine," Ellie sighed. "We'll go to the kitchen and refill the drinks. Whatever."

Once they were gone, Lucifer let out a breath and looked Josh in the eye. "Can we talk?" He asked. "I need to have a word with you and Sarah."

"About what?" Josh asked. "Are you going to take Ellie back to hell again?"

"Remember, you said you were gonna be open-minded," Sarah prompted. Then she gave Lucifer a smile. "Sure, we can talk," she said. "Where would you like to go?"

"We don't have to go far," Lucifer shook his head. "We can talk about it before dinner."

"What do we have to talk about?" Josh asked. "Can you at least tell me that?"

"Well, the whole point of this evening was that I wanted to ask you formally if I could marry your daughter," Lucifer told him. "Now you know."

"No, I'm not gonna let you marry my daughter!" Josh cried. "It's bad enough you kidnapped her and made her do everything you have against her will!"

"Yeah!" Junior added. "There is no way you two are getting married!"

"What does Ellie think about this?" Sarah asked, placing herself between Josh and Junior on one side and Lucifer on the other while Selina and Dorian looked on, ready to jump in if necessary. "Does she want it? If it's what she wants, we shouldn't stand in the way."

"Well, she doesn't know," Lucifer replied. "I was hoping it would be a nice surprise that I could do during dinner. And don't I get credit for at least asking? Or is it a situation where I'm damned if I do or I'm damned if I don't?"

"Thank you for asking," Sarah told him. "That's very nice of you."

"Why don't we eat?" Selina suggested. "Who's ready to eat?"

Sarah went to get Hannah and Ellie and they all sat down to dinner, but no one except Selina and Hannah really ate much cause of the hostility between Josh, Junior, and Lucifer, who was trying the best he could to keep his word to Ellie and behave himself. Maeve, clad in her usual pants and midriff-baring shirt, was standing in the dining room for this exact reason: to head off any problems that might develop. She wanted to grab Junior by his hair and shake him, but she knew it would be a bad idea without Eleanor's permission, which she expected to receive at any moment. It didn't take long for her to show her frustration.

Finally, Ellie stood up. "Okay, what the hell is going on? I thought were were supposed to be having a nice party. I'm wearing a new dress, I got a babysitter for my twins...why is everyone so mad at each other?" She turned on Lucifer, who had picked up a chicken leg and was gnawing on it. "Did you start this? Did all this tension happen because of you?"

"Yes," He confessed after swallowing. "There's no point in lying." Then he pulled the ring out of his jacket pocket. "Your fathers are mad at me because I asked them if I could marry you." He opened the box. "But your mother is more sensible. She says that as long as you're all right with it, she won't object. So...what do you say, Eleanor? Will you marry me?"

It took everything Ellie had in her not to look at Josh and Junior's disapproving faces. Lucifer could tell this and gave her a smile, pointing and whispering, "Look at Hannah..." So she turned her gaze to her smiling sister, who gave her a thumbs up and mouthed, "Do it."

Maeve could also tell that she was uncomfortable and knew exactly why. She grabbed Junior by his collar. "You! Come here. We need to go out back and talk."

"No!" Junior shook his head. "Why should I go anywhere with you? This is a discussion I need to be part of."

"No, you don't," Maeve shook her head. "You need to be away from this conversation. Let's go." She marched him out of the house and threw him onto the grass in the front yard. "Why are you being so difficult?" She asked, getting down on her knees beside him. "Why can't you just let your daughter be happy?"

"Well how is it that we know this will make her happy?" Junior questioned after sitting up. "This could just be him forcing her into it again. Like he did the other time. He can't love at all! She deserves better than that!"

Maeve gave him a slap. "She deserves better than you intruding on her business. I've seen more of her interacting with my boss than you have, and no matter what you want to think, she wants to be with him. Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable."

"I'm going inside," Junior fought against her and got to his feet, heading back toward the house.

"No, you don't!" Maeve cried, hitting him hard on the head as he reached the door. He dropped like a rock, unconscious on the front steps. Maeve then got down on her knees next to him and looked him over. When he wasn't talking, he wasn't a bad-looking man. At least aesthetically. She smiled and let herself think. She realized she wouldn't mind tying him up, gagging him, and having a little fun with him someday.

* * *

Junior's absence lightened the mood somewhat, but it was still hard for Ellie to respond to Lucifer's proposal with everyone watching. She leaned down and whispered in his ear. "Why don't we go to our bedroom and you can ask me again? It's kind of hard to say yes when I know there are people here that want me to say 'No'."

"Good point," Lucifer nodded and led her away to their bedroom . After shutting the door behind him, he got down on his knee in front of her and open the ring box. "Will you marry me?" He asked. "It would mean the world to me if you do."

"I know," Ellie nodded and put her arms around his neck. She gave him her biggest smile and ruffled his hair. "And I want to marry you too, because like I said, without you, I feel like a part of me is missing if you're not around."

"And is it...is it worth possibly alienating your fathers?" Lucifer asked, wondering why he was doing such a thing when he already had the answer he wanted.

"Yes," Ellie nodded without hesitation. "You mean something to me, and the twins do too, and if Dad and Junior can't accept that, I'm not going to change my mind." She held out her hand. "May I have my ring now?"

"Yes," Lucifer chuckled and slipped the black diamond ring on her finger before kissing her and picking her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as he carried her to the bed and lay her down on the mattress as they both looked at each other, panting heavily.

"We shouldn't do this now," she whispered. "We still have people in the dining room."

"Oh, all right," Lucifer sighed. "They won't be around for much longer. I think the mood was killed after two minutes."

"Don't let that bother you," Ellie told him as she sat up. "From what I saw, you did everything right."

"Just like you wanted me to," he nodded and kissed her hand. "I really didn't want to disappoint you tonight."

"Well, trust me," Ellie grinned. "The last thing I am is disappointed."

They then began making out until Hannah knocked on the bedroom door. "Are you two having sex in there? Should I tell everyone that we need to go home?"

"I think you all might as well," Lucifer said, breaking apart from Ellie for a moment. "But you...I want to give you a little treat if you want to stay a bit longer." He grabbed a key from the dresser and slipped it under the door. "That's for the movie theater. I hear you want to see inside. Go ahead. We might even join you soon."

"Don't rush!" Hannah told him, sounding very pleased. "Don't worry about me, please. I can entertain myself. Oh, and congratulations!"

"Thank you," Lucifer told her. "You're probably the only one who's gonna tell us that tonight."

"Yeah, Hannah," Ellie told her sister. "Thank you very much!"


	34. Being At Peace With Myself

"I wish you didn't have to go to the office today," Ellie remarked to Lucifer as he got out of bed and made his way to the shower. "Since we just got engaged, can't you call it a work holiday and take it off?"

"Oh, I plan to," he nodded. "But first I have to tell everyone. It would be terrible form for me to not show up for work."

"True," Ellie nodded. Then she sighed. "If anyone reacts badly after you make the announcement, don't tell me about it, all right?"

"Oh, I wouldn't!" Luci promised, walking back to the bed, taking her hand and kissing it as he looked into her eyes. "I wouldn't hurt you like that. Especially when I know what you're giving up to be with me."

"I'm not giving anything up," Ellie assured him. "If people really care about me, they'll accept that this makes me happy, and want to stay in my life, and if they don't want to, then they're not worth being around."

"I still don't understand how this is happening," Lucifer shook his head and looked at her, his expression dumbstruck. "I've done so many terrible things to you. I've been horrible and selfish. And yet, here we are: you've accepted my ring because you want to be my wife. Why?"

"Well, do you know that what you did before I left Hell was wrong?" Ellie asked.

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Of course."

"Do you know why it upset me?" Ellie asked again.

"Yes," Lucifer replied. "You know I do."

"Do you plan on ever acting that way again?" Ellie questioned one last time.

"No!" Lucifer shook his head, looking horrified at the thought, his body recoiling.

"Well, now you know why I've accepted your ring and want to be with you," Ellie told him with a smile. "Cause you seem to be over being a jerk (well, at least to me, anyway) and have chosen to be kind instead."

"Yeah," Lucifer chuckled and pulled her close. "I suppose I have."

Ellie gave him a quick kiss. "Now go take a shower so you can get to work on time. Don't let me distract you."

"I can't help it," he shrugged. "You're beautiful."

"Thanks," Ellie replied, her eyes on the mattress, and her face blushing pink until Lucifer finally headed to the bathroom and she heard the shower turn on. Then she got her bathrobe on and went to visit the twins to see how they were doing.

She shouldn't have been surprised to find Dexter on the floor playing with the twins when she poked her head in the door. "Thank you," she told Dexter. "But you didn't have to take care of them for us. I'm here to do some mothering, even if I'm a little late."

"All right," Dexter nodded as she picked up Vincent. "But I want you to know that with your wedding happening and stuff, whenever you need someone to watch the children for whatever reason, I'm here for you."

"Thank you," Ellie smiled. "I appreciate it, Dexter." She then looked at the purple octopus toy her daughter was clutching in her tiny hand. "Where'd that come from?" She asked. "I don't remember seeing that before."

"Oh, I gave it to her this morning," Dexter explained. "And Vincent has a little shark."

"That is so sweet of you, Dexter!" Ellie smiled and cuddled her tiny son. "Thank you! You know I'm fond of sea animals and fish myself. I like the idea of passing the interest on."

"Of course," Dexter winked. "Why do you think I picked those animals?" He watched as Ellie made sure both babies were clean and comfortable, then he asked, "What are you planning to do with yourself today?"

Ellie shrugged. "I really haven't thought about it, but if you _really_ want to watch the kids, I'm sure I could find something to do with myself."

"Good," Dexter smiled. "I think I might hang around with them today." He paused. "Unless you're comfortable with the idea of them leaving the house."

"Whatever _you_ feel comfortable doing is all right with me," Ellie told him. "I'm not worried about whether or not you'll keep them safe. I know you will. But are you sure you can handle two babies at once?"

"Yes," Dexter assured her as he cuddled Valerie. "I can handle it. You go have fun. I can have someone make a spa appointment for you if you want."

"That sounds _wonderful_ ," Ellie nodded. "Thank you, Dexter." She gave him a grin and patted him on the shoulder. "Thank you very much."

* * *

"All right, everyone, gather around," Lucifer announced as he strode through the door of the office. "I have an announcement to make."

"This isn't about the wedding, is it?" Josh asked irritably.

"What wedding?" Rodan asked his son. "Why do you look so irritated, Josh? What's going on?"

"Now, now..." Lucifer clicked his tongue and gave Josh a tight smile. "Just because you know my big surprise doesn't mean you have to go spoiling it for everyone who's not as privileged as you are."

"What wedding?" Rodan repeated irritably. "Someone just tell me what's going on!"

"Eleanor and I are getting married!" Lucifer grinned. "I've given her a black diamond ring. It's quite lovely. I'm proud of myself."

"Does she know you're getting married?" Josh asked, his eyes narrowed. "Has she consented?"

"Yes, she has." Lucifer nodded. "You can call her and ask her yourself if you don't believe me. She and I are on much better terms than I think you'd like, and if you can't accept that, it's not my fault. The wedding is going to happen whether you like it or not. But if you're not part of it, you'll just disappoint her. And could you live with that?"

That was what finally made Josh back down and lapse into silence.

"Any more complaints?" Lucifer asked, looking around at the assembled demons. "Anyone else who doesn't want me and the woman I love to be happy?"

Everyone shook their heads and Dorian said, "Congratulations, sir. I hope you and Ellie are very happy." Beside him, Selina clutched his arm and said nothing.

"Thank you," Lucifer nodded. "Just for that, I'm going to announce that you get the rest of the day and a long weekend off. See you on Monday."

They stared at him in disbelief and then Dorian asked, "Are you joking?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "Go and be free, little birdies! Believe me, I don't want to be here now any more than any of you do. I have other things on my mind. More important things."

No one waited another second before running from the office without another word. Then when the office was empty, Lucifer chuckled and then called home to tell Ellie he was on his way, and was told by Dexter that she'd gone to the spa and would be home later.

* * *

It didn't take long for Lucifer to reach the spa where Ellie was camped out. He bribed the masseur to go out to lunch in the middle of Ellie's massage. "You're a good man," he told him with a wink. "I'm not going to forget about this." He then strode into the room where a half-naked Ellie was lying face down on the massage table. She heard someone come in, but because he didn't speak, she assumed it was her masseuse that had returned, and not Lucifer.

Chuckling to himself, he put some hot lavender oil on his hands and began working it into her shoulders and back.

"Oh, that's good," she said. "I like that. Do it again! Higher! Higher! There, that's the spot!"

"I like the sound of this," he told her, laughter in his voice when he finally decided to speak. "It'll be a good last hurrah before we hold off on sex until we're married."

"What?" Ellie asked. "Why would we want to do that?"

"It would make for a nice fresh start," Lucifer told her. "Don't you think?"

"I guess," Ellie nodded. "Fine, whatever you want. I guess I can do this."

"It'll be worth the wait," Lucifer promised and kissed her hair before giving her a spanking. "I promise."

"Do my shoulders again," Ellie demanded. "I still have a lot of my hour left and if you...I don't know, bribed the masseur to take his place, you're not leaving early. I want my money's worth."

"And you shall have it," Lucifer whispered in her ear before starting on her neck and shoulders (with the promise of a possibility to move onto more intimate places later on.)

When Ellie's hour was up, he left with a wink and a wave. "I'll see you at home," he said. "You want me to make reservations for dinner?"

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "I was planning on going shopping later and it would be nice to have a place to wear my new stuff." She paused. "How did the engagement go?"

"Everyone except your father was happy for us," Lucifer told her. "I think he's still having trouble dealing with it."

"Do you think that will change?" Ellie asked. "This might be a stupid question, but what did you do to him to make him hate you so much? Is it just about you being the devil and him being a demon?"

"Not _just_ that, no," Lucifer shook his head. "I had to take a harder line with him because he was always trying to escape, and would never listen to reason. He was a much more rebellious young demon before he met your mother and calmed down."

"Did you ever hurt him?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, but it's not like it had much of an effect," Lucifer shrugged. "He never learned from it. He's still as stubborn as ever."

"I don't suppose it would be too much to ask for you to apologize to him, would it?" Ellie questioned.

"Well, even if i did apologize, I don't know if that would change anything," Lucifer pointed out with a sigh as he reached out a hand to run his fingers through Ellie's dark hair. "But I suppose I could try."

"Thank you," Ellie told him. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," Lucifer replied, his eye wandering to the clock. "I should probably go now. See you soon, darling."

"See you!" Ellie told him with a smile. "Bye!"

* * *

Ever since Lisa's birth, Elijah hadn't slept well. Not just because he and Amy were often up at all hours taking care of their baby. No, it was more than that. It was about Amy: They weren't connecting like they should. Sure, new children cause stress, but even before that, things had been far from perfect. Why else would she have moved in with her sister for so long prior to the delivery? He had lots of questions, but he couldn't ask Amy about them. Not when she had so much else to deal with. So he decided to talk to Lisa instead.

"Things are going wrong with me and your mother," he told her as they sat in the rocking chair in her nursery and she watched him intently. "Not that I'm blaming you, of course, dear. It's not your fault. It's mine. She left before you were born, you know. And she probably wouldn't have come back if I hadn't brought her." He sighed and rocked a bit. "Maybe that should have been a warning to me. Maybe I should have just let her stay where she was. Let her find someone to be with that she actually wants to get close to instead of just running off to bed without so much as a hand touch much less any other kind of closeness. I always hold on too tight. That's my problem. And I never realize it until things get bad. But I have now. Now I need to loosen my grip."

But what he didn't know was that Amy was just outside the door, coming to feed Lisa, and had heard every word. But she didn't want him to know that she'd heard. Then he'd just deny it and keep things the way they were. He was right that changes needed to be made, but it was she, not he, that would have to make the first moves to get the changes made. She ran to her room and changed out of her pajamas and into nothing but silky underwear and a sheer rose-colored bathrobe. Kind of a racy thing to feed a kid in, but at least it would give Elijah something to think about when he went back to sleep.

When her robe was tied, she walked back to Lisa's room where Elijah was still rocking her and talking to her in a low voice. She waited until he paused and then knocked on the door frame and stepped into the room. "Sorry to interrupt," she told him when his head came up and he stared at her. "But it's time for me to feed Lisa. You can go back to bed, if you want."

She walked to the rocking chair and reached out for her daughter, leaning down to smile at her as Elijah's eyes drifted from her face to her exposed chest. Then she took Lisa in her arms and tried not to laugh. "See anything you like?" She whispered to her husband.

"Well, no," Elijah blushed. "I mean, yes, but..."

"Oh, go to bed," Amy grinned and gave him a spanking and a push toward the bedroom door.

"You know I won't be able to sleep," Elijah told her, pausing with his hand on the doorframe.

"Well, we'll just have to find a way to fix that, won't we?" Amy asked.

"Yes," Elijah grinned slowly. "We certainly will." He then strode back to bed, took off the robe he'd been wearing along with his boxers and then waited impatiently for Amy to come back. He'd forgotten what her body had looked like because with everything they'd had to do to take care of Lisa, it'd been a while since he'd seen it. And now he wondered why it had been so long. She was beautiful!

When she opened the door and made her way inside, he watched with a grin on his lips as she stood at the foot of the bed, smiled back, untied her bathrobe, and let it drop to her feet before coming around to join him under the covers as he kissed her hungrily, his hands going up and down her body.

"Well, look at you," she whispered. "I was afraid you'd forgotten how to do this. Or that taking care of the family was first for you and I was second. So this is a nice surprise."

"It's not true," he told her as he lowered her down on to the mattress and slid off her panties. "I love you. You know that. And I'm sorry if you think you're second for me. That's crazy. You're most definitely first."

"I am?" Amy asked. "That's...that's good." She tried not to sound too surprised.

"I know I haven't done a good job of showing it," he said and then kissed her neck. "But I promise I'll do much better from now on."

"Thank you," Amy replied and then cried out as he pushed into her, her hips bucking as his fingers threaded through her hair. "Thank you very much."

* * *

After his attack on Jeffrey, Christopher chose to isolate himself even more, not even wanting to talk to Klaus, who, it had seemed he'd tolerated at first.

"Did he not want to come in again?" Sybil asked as Klaus came in one night after making yet another unsuccessful attempt to get Christopher to come in and have dinner with them.

"No, he didn't," Klaus shook his head. "He even refused my offer to have us come out to him. I guess what he did to your father really shook him up. He's not even trying to keep a human-like appearance anymore."

Sybil sighed. "I know you and I worked so hard to keep him from Lucifer, but...maybe, at this point, the best thing we can do is have Christopher be with him...at least for a little while. It might make him be more at ease with himself."

"We're not that desperate," Klaus shook his head. "Are we?"

Sybil sighed. "Our son is probably one step away from becoming a creature who hides out in the woods," she pointed out. "We want to prevent that any way we can. At least if we send him to Lucifer, we might have a chance of him becoming someone we can deal with."

"What if he hates us?" Klaus questioned.

"How would that be different from now?" Sybil pointed out as she looked out the window and gasped at the sight of her son emerging from his tent. He did look much more animal like now. "How could he hate us any more than he already does?"

"You have a point," Klaus nodded. "Should you call Lucifer, or should I?"

"You do it," Sybil sighed. "It's...it's much too hard for me."

* * *

"I can't say I was surprised to get your call," Lucifer told Klaus as he let him and Christopher in. "I told you that we would see each other again before, didn't I? But I'm glad you finally figured it out yourself."

"Who is he?" Christopher asked Klaus. "Why am I here? Is it because I attacked Grandpa? I was scared! It's not my fault!"

"Of course it's not your fault!" Klaus told him. "But you're clearly not happy at home and your mother and I, as much as we love you, are at a loss about how to make things better for you. At least right now. You'll be much happier here because there are a lot of people like you at this house. And Lucifer will help you be more comfortable with what you are, I promise."

"Like me?" Christopher asked. "Big, scary monsters? This house is full of big, scary monsters?" He sped over to Ellie, pulled her close, and began sniffing her. "Are you one of them?" He asked. "Are you a monster like me?"

"No, no," Lucifer said and pulled Christopher off her as Ellie's breathing relaxed. "She's not. But your father's not wrong. This place is full of demons. You won't be alone here. You might even make a friend or two."

"I don't think so," Christopher shook his head. "I think...I think I'd rather be alone, if you don't mind. I've hurt someone already and I don't want to do it to anyone else."

"That's okay," Ellie replied, starting to reach out and touch him in a comforting way, but then thinking better of it and pulling her hand back. "Would you like to see the house before you go to your room? Or do you just want to go straight there?"

"I think...I think I wouldn't mind looking around," Christopher decided. Then he locked eyes with Klaus for a moment before asking, "Would you mind if...if my father came with me?"

"Of course he can come," Ellie nodded, secretly glad that she wouldn't have to deal with him on her own yet. "No problem. Come with me." She looked at Lucifer. "Do you want to come too, or do you have other things you need to do instead?"

"Oh, no, I'll come," Lucifer assured her. "In fact, why don't I take them? I know the house better than you do."

"You have a point," Ellie nodded. "if you need me, I'll be in the library."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "Marvelous."

* * *

The house had many rooms and Lucifer had hardly shown any of them before Christopher got bored and demanded to be taken to his room.

"I don't want to do this anymore!" He complained. "I'm tired!"

"Well, all right," Lucifer replied to the demon hybrid. "We can always continue the tour later when you feel more up to it. Luckily for you, your room's not far from here."

Both Klaus and Christopher were expecting him to be put in something like a cage, something small and contained. So they were surprised when Lucifer opened the door to a room that was very plainly decorated, but roomy and with every piece of furniture that would make a person comfortable.

"This is...this is very nice," Christopher got out, his voice full of shock. "I like it. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lucifer replied. "I figured you'd want to spend a lot of time in here, at least for a while, so at least you should be comfortable. I'm glad you like it. Cause you're a guest here, not a prisoner."

Christopher tested the bed and the chairs and went to look at the view he had of the large yard from his window. Satisfied, he then went to hug his father one last time. "Thanks for trying," he told him. "And will you tell that to Mom, too? I know she meant well. Will you let her know that I'm...I'm happy and stuff? Or at least that I will be? You both did the right thing. I'm not mad."

"Good," Klaus said and hugged him. "I hope things are better for you here. Goodbye, son." There was a catch in his throat as he held Christopher for a few extra seconds and watching the scene made Lucifer have the very strong urge to want to go and hug Vincent and Valerie.

At last, Father and son separated, and said one last 'Goodbye' before Klaus made his way to the door, stepped out of the room and shut it behind him after Lucifer followed him out.

Then, Christopher was alone. Blessedly alone, in silence, with no one telling him what to do, or when to do it. It was a thing he'd never experienced in his whole life. And he was pretty sure he was going to like it.


	35. Beauty Meets The Beast

"I am so glad that Dad let you stay the night," Ellie told Hannah. "You can pick any bedroom that you want. Well, except for the one that is in a little side hallway off the main one. Don't go in there. Any other room, you can have."

But of course being told that she couldn't go into that room made Hannah even more curious. It took some time but Hannah eventually found the room Ellie was talking about and she heard growling from the other side of the door and grinned to herself. "There's probably a puppy in there," she said. "I can go in there and pet it. I don't know what Ellie is so worried about."

She opened the door and was pounced on by a furry creature with yellow eyes that pinned her to the floor.

Hannah's breathing picked up and she shut her eyes, trying not to be sick from the smell of its sour breath on her face.

"Okay, puppy," she gasped. "Time to get off now. I can't breathe." Then her eyes widened as the creature obeyed, but not in a way she expected. He turned from an animal to a person and grinned down at her, giving her a sloppy kiss.

"You're pretty," he said.

"Th-thank you, I guess," Hannah got out. "I'd like to leave now, please."

"No!" Christopher growled, looking hurt and angry. When Hannah felt him push up her shirt, she'd had enough. She punched him in the nose, which made him roll off her and give her enough time to get to her feet. She began running, speeding up when he heard him running behind her, and when she felt his hand on her back, she turned around, kicked him in the crotch, and didn't wait for him to fall to the floor before she made a clean getaway, slamming the door closed behind her as he howled in pain. Then, she went to tell Ellie what happened. No wonder her sister hadn't wanted her to go in that room.

* * *

"Here's ten bucks," Ellie sight and handed Lucifer some money. "You were right about Hannah going into Christopher's room."

"Was she hurt?" Lucifer asked. "Did she get out all right?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "She's a bit shaken, but from the sound of things, he came out of it worse than she did."

"All right, then," Lucifer grinned. "Now that I know she's all right, I feel more comfortable saying 'I told you so'."

"Yes, you did," Ellie sighed. "And Christopher was doing so well."

"Oh, don't give up on him now," Lucifer told her. "We just need to talk to him. He'll do all right. Maybe we should take him out. It can't be good for him to be locked up in that room all day, even though he says that's what he wants."

"All right, but how would we do that?" Ellie questioned. "I mean, we don't want to put other people in danger. Not until he's better." She sighed.

"We'll figure something out," Lucifer grinned, putting a hand under her chin and looking in her eyes. "Now, would you like to see the wedding dress I got for you?"

"You got me a wedding dress?" Ellie questioned. "You just...you got me a wedding dress without asking me first?"

"Oh, it will fit," he assured her. "I know your size."

Ellie just slowly shook her head, her eyes narrowed. "All right," she told him in a low voice. "Go ahead and show it to me."

He felt a little nervous now. He'd expected her to be happy, but she didn't look happy at all. In fact, she llooked like she wanted to kill him. He chuckled uneasily and led to her to thier closet where a large, poofy white wedding dress with lacy sleeves hung.

"What the hell is that?" She cried when she saw it. "Is that what you're expecting me to wear when I get married?"

"Well, sure," Lucifer nodded. "Don't you like it?"

"No!" Ellie shook her head. "Are you crazy, wanting me to wear this poofy princess monstrosity? This is why you need to ask me! I'll buy my own dress. You'll be surprised by it, that's for sure. It's not gonna have anything to do with your 'ravage an innocent virgin' fantasy!" She stomped out of the closet and Lucifer followed her, pausing only when he ran into Dexter, who had a twin in each arm.

"Did you show Miss Ellie the dress yet?" He asked with a grin. "What did she think?"

Lucifer sighed. "She didn't like it. She says she's going to get a dress herself. I've not seen her in such a bad mood in a while. It's probably the celibacy. That would make anyone cranky, wouldn't it?"

"Well, you're not making her wait too much longer, are you?" Dexter asked.

"Of course not," Lucifer shook his head and took Victor. "I'm going without too, you know. And I won't be able to do it forever."

"The fact that you can do it at all is something that impresses me," Dexter told him and pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Good for you."

"Yeah," Lucifer sighed and took Vincent in his arms. "Good for me."

* * *

"So...what sort of dress are you looking for?" Hannah asked. "We could split up if you have no idea. I could pick a few, you could pick a few...then you could pick from those."

"No, I have an idea," Ellie told her and grabbed her hand, pulling her through the mall to the wedding dress section. "I most definitely have an idea."

"Well, slow down, would you, please?" Hannah questioned as she stumbled over her own feet and struggled to stay upright. "You're moving too fast! I can barely stand up!"

Ellie paused and dropped her sister's hand just in time for Hannah to fall on her face. "Sorry about that," she said, helping her up. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thanks," Hannah nodded. "I'll be all right."

The girls then walked at a more measured pace to where the wedding dresses were on display.

"Excuse me," Ellie said to the saleswoman. "Do you have any black wedding dresses? I'm not really interested in white ones."

"We don't have a big selection of black," the woman in the blue suit said as she rose to her feet. "But we have a few, certainly. Come with me."

Ellie was surprised that the request was taken so calmly. She'd expected to be looked at oddly for wanting such an unconventional color.

She was right when she said the selection of black dresses was small, but luckily for Ellie, they all had the sort of look she wanted, which she quickly pointed out to Hannah once the saleswoman had left them alone to browse. "Okay, give me you're opinion," she told her sister. "Which one of these says 'badass queen of hell' to you?"

"No, no..." Hannah shook her head as Ellie showed each dress. Then she pulled out the third one with Hannah's help. It had a sweetheart neckline and a giant skirt with a long train. "I like this one," she said. "Do you like this one?"

"Yes," Ellie grinned. "I do!" They got it on and they both looked at Ellie's reflection in the mirror. "Good," Ellie smiled. "It just needs some jewelry."

After they got the dress, they got a large, heavy diamond and silver necklace and matching earrings, along with a black hat and veil to go with the dress and silver heels.

"You really seemed to know what you wanted in there," Hannah remarked. "No browsing for you."

"Of course not," Ellie shook her head. "I have an image I need to project, don't I? And I need to make it clear before Luci makes me look like a giant marshmallow. Or an angel or something weird like that."

"He got you a giant white poofy dress?" Hannah asked. "Why?"

"I have some idea," Ellie scoffed. "Some virgin-angel fantasy, I guess. It's probably also why he decided we aren't having sex until our wedding night. It's driving me crazy!"

"He probably won't make you wait too long," Hannah reminded her. "He's being deprived too."

"Good point," Ellie nodded. "He hasn't told me anything about a wedding date yet, but I bet it will be soon."

* * *

They drove off with all the packages and when they arrived home, Lucifer met them at the door. "Eleanor, I have some wedding ideas I'd like to run by you. Want to come look at them with me?"

"Sure," Ellie smiled. "Thanks. I would love to." They headed to the dining room and Luci laid out the plans for what would be a wedding ball with all the important demons, as well as anyone in her family who would want to come.

"Would you like that?" He asked. "You know how to dance, don't you?"

"No, but I'd love to learn," Ellie smiled. "Could you teach me?"

Lucifer grinned and kissed her. "Of course. I would love that."

While they looked over potential wedding plans, Hannah decided to head back to the movie theater, her new favorite room in Ellie and Lucifer's house. But she didn't make it there. Someone caught her on the way. She was grabbed and carried from the hallway to a room nearby.

"Hi," said a young man, grinning at her as he put her on her feet and closed the bedroom door behind them. "Remember me?"

Hannah looked him over. He had tousled blond hair, nice dark eyes, and a lean, muscular body. His smile showed a set of strong, shiny white teeth. "Should I remember you?" She asked. "I _think_ I would remember, but I just can't. You want to help me out a little?"

He chuckled. "Sure...I'm Christopher. What's your name?"

"Hannah," she said. "Are you a demon? I don't consider that a bad thing, mind you. I just want to make that clear."

"Actually, it's hard to explain _what_ I am," Christopher told her as he sat down hard on his bed. "I know I have some demon in me, but...that's not all."

"Really?" Hannah asked and came to sit beside him. "That's cool. Me too! Dad's a demon, Mom's a witch! And I've got a little vampire in me, too."

Christopher chuckled and reached out for her hand, which Hannah immediately offered. "It's nice to be with someone else who's complicated like me," he said. "It makes me feel not so alone."

"I'm sorry you have to feel alone," Hannah told him. "Really. No one should feel like that."

"Dad told me that being here at Lucifer's house with other demons would make me feel better," Christopher continued. "I hope he's right. I think he is, though. I...I haven't had any freakouts in a couple of days. Actually, my last big upset was right before the first time I saw you."

Hannah looked around the room. "You were the dog, weren't you? Or the animal that pounced on me? And I...I kicked you and ran away."

"Yeah," Christopher nodded, his eyes averted from Hannah's. "That was me. I deserved that."

"I hope I didn't hurt you too badly," Hannah told him and gave his hand a squeeze. "I was just frightened, that's all."

"I'm sorry you were frightened," Christopher replied. "I've scared lots of people. I'm trying not to do that anymore."

As Hannah looked into his sad eyes, a feeling of sadness overwhelmed her. Not knowing what else to do, she put a hand on either side of his face and kissed him, and it was a lingering kiss rather than a quick one. She even felt his hands trying to roam all over her body.

When they finally pulled apart, both Christopher and Hannah were staring at each other, wide-eyed.

"Sorry," Hannah apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that. We shouldn't do this." She backed away. Hands off. Hands off."

"Why?" Christopher cried. "What did I do wrong? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, you didn't hurt me," Hannah assured him. "And if...if you want a friend, I'd be more than happy to talk to you, but...I don't think I'm ready for anything else. Not now. Not so quickly. Goodbye, Christopher." She left the room and when she was gone, Christopher groaned and punched a fist through the wall.

He'd fucked up again. He hadn't meant to. He'd been gentle. He'd been careful. But still, it had come to nothing. There was no hope for him. If he repulsed a woman who was just like him, there was truly no hope.

* * *

With the wedding planning done, excitement filled both Ellie and Lucifer as they got ready for bed that night.

"Do I look unattractive enough for you?" Ellie asked with a cheeky grin as she got in bed next to him. She wore one of his button-down black shirts and a pair of gray sweatpants. "Not alluring at all?"

"Well, I have to give you credit for making an effort," he said, reaching out to tug on one of the sleeves before stealing a kiss from her. "But seeing you in what you call 'unattractive' clothing just makes me more eager to take it off of you." He paused. "But I'm really working on my self control here. We won't have to wait much longer, though."

"Oh, I hope not," Ellie replied.

They lapsed into silence and then Ellie asked. "Would it just be easier if I went and slept either in my old room or with the twins? I know this whole 'celibacy til the wedding' thing means a lot to you."

"Yeah," Lucifer nodded. "Maybe it would be best for you to go to your old room. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Ellie replied, grabbing some clothes and heading to her old room where she quickly settled into a deep sleep, which was interrupted when she was shaken roughly awake later that night, Dexter's desperate voice meeting her ears.

"Miss Ellie! Miss Ellie! Wake up!"

"What?" She muttered and sat up, her mind still clouded with sleep. "Dexter, what's going on?"

"The twins' room is on fire!" Dexter cried. "We've been trying to get them out, but we can't!"

"Why?" Ellie asked, much more awake now as she ran with Dexter to the twins' room. But she was stopped at the entry way. The room was on fire, and smoke was billowing out into the hallway. Ellie got down on her knees, coughing. When she could finally get a breath, she used her magic to clear the smoke away and peer into the room.

"Luci?" She called out to Lucifer. "Lucifer, what's going on with the twins? What's happening? How did the room catch on fire?"

"Well, I'm not quite sure," Lucifer confessed. "It seems like it just happened."

Ellie got close to the door and peered in. Fire was everywhere. The heat in the room was oppressive. It was like being in hell all over again.

"I'm gonna try and put the fire out," she told him. "Protect the twins the best you can. Cover their bodies so the water doesn't hurt them."

When she was assured that her children were protected, Ellie shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and pictured a wall of water soaking the entire room and dousing the flames, then muttered under her breath and just hoped it would work.

"That was impressive," Lucifer remarked as Ellie opened her eyes and found herself staring at a soaking wet room full of soaking wet people. "I've never seen so much water."

"It worked?" Ellie was nearly crying with relief. "Oh, my god, it worked!" She ran into the room. "Now...where are the babies?"

"That's the thing," Lucifer confessed. "We're still trying to figure that out."

"What?" Ellie asked. "Where did they go? Were they hurt?"

"I found them!" Dexter cried from the other side of their cribs. "I got 'em...oh, damn! Not again! They disappeared _again!_ "

They began wandering around the room and soon, Ellie found out what Dexter meant. Vincent and Valerie kept disappearing and appearing in different parts of the room. Finally, Ellie got both of their hands and did a spell to keep them visible. "Seems like they've got their magic powers now," she panted.

"This was all magic?" Lucifer asked. He was adorably rumpled and dirty.

"Some of it was," Ellie nodded. "I asked my mom one day what the first signs of powers usually were and I don't think setting things on fire is typical beginning magic. Maybe that came from you." She then noticed that both of the twins had red eyes and not a single burn on them. They were completely unscathed. "Yep," she said as she fixed their cribs and then she and Dexter put them back to sleep. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say the fire-starting abilities came from you."

"Sorry," Lucifer sighed.

Ellie shrugged. "We'd have to deal with it sometime." She thought a moment. "I might as well stay in here so I can fix it if this happens again. It's perfect timing, really."

"Maybe we _both_ should," Lucifer suggested, putting his arms around her. "I wouldn't want the fire to make you crispy."

Ellie nodded. "Whatever makes you more comfortable," she told him and then instructed Dexter to work with the other demons to make the house as fire-proof as they possibly could. That was definitely a necessity now.


	36. The Gift Of Your Presence

"How's Christopher?" Sybil called Lucifer to ask a few days after he'd been sent away. "Is he behaving himself? Has he caused any trouble?"

"No, he's mostly keeping to himself," Lucifer assured her. "Eleanor and I are trying to get him to come down to eat with us sometime, but so far, it hasn't worked."

"Well, don't try and push him to do something he doesn't want to do," Sybil advised. "It only makes him more determined to fight against you."

Lucifer sighed. "Yes, it seems like that's the case. But other than that, he's fine. Nothing to worry about. We're taking good care of him."

"Well, I hope so," Sybil said. "Because this is my son we're talking about and I wouldn't accept anything less."

"Good," Lucifer told her. "Good. Any other concerns?"

"No," Sybil replied. "I just wanted to make sure Christopher was doing all right since he's been with you a few days now."

"You're a good mother," Lucifer told her. "And I promise, I'm taking good care of your son."

"You better be," Sybil snapped and hung up without so much as a 'Goodbye'.

"Well, that was a bit harsh, considering that I was being so friendly," Lucifer muttered as he stared at the phone and then put it back in the cradle. Then he let out a sigh and went to join Ellie in the twins' room.

"That was some crazy business that happened, wasn't it?" She asked with a smile as he approached her and put his arms around her.

"Yeah, it was," he nodded. "It wouldn't have turned out as well as it did if not for you."

Ellie blushed. "Well, thank you. But I was just...I was just doing what needed to be done."

"Well, it was good you did," he replied and kissed her hair. Then he let her go and went to look in the twins' cribs. "They've been quiet since the fire."

"And I think we can all be grateful for that," Ellie replied, looking at her children, who were clutching their stuffed animals, fast asleep. "You and I might as well go to bed too. We should get what sleep we can. Who knows when catastrophe will befall us next?" She got into bed and waited for him as he hesitated. "What's the matter?" She asked and patted the mattress. "Won't you come to bed with me?"

"I'm trying to think," Lucifer replied. He was silent for a few seconds and then took a running start and leaped on the mattress, landing on his belly, and grabbing Ellie just in time before she fell off.

"That's a relief," she said as he clutched her wrist. "Otherwise, I would really have been hurt!"

"Sorry," Lucifer apologized and pulled her to himself. "Sometimes, I'm just too exuberant for my own good."

"That's okay, since you caught me," Ellie told him and snuggled against him. "I have to ask since I'm never gonna figure it out for myself, but...what would you like for a wedding present? What do you get the devil who has everything?"

"You know, I haven't really thought about it, but I'll come up with something," he assured her. "Although, just your being here is good enough, if I'm being entirely honest. Now you tell me...what do you think about hunting? I know you drink from blood bags like a good, obedient little vampire cause you've never really had experience with anything else, but would you want...would you want live prey and a genuine hunting experience?"

"You mean, do I want to hunt _people?"_ Ellie asked, her eyes widening. "Real live people and rip out their throats and suck out the blood inside?"

"Yes, I knew this was a bad idea," Lucifer sighed and shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, no, keep talking!" Ellie said. "I don't want to make a decision before I know all the facts. Would I be hunting innocent people? Just random innocent people you bring from off the street?"

"Well, of course not, Eleanor!" Lucifer assured her. "Why would I ruin the lives of innocents when I have perfectly lovely evil people who have crimes they need to pay for right in my grasp?"

"I can't take blood from dead people," Ellie reminded him. "I don't think I can. It doesn't work that way."

"Well, that's easy enough," Lucifer shrugged. "I pick...ten people or so, tell them that I want to amend their deals to include eternal life, and then...voila! Fresh prey forever!"

"And these are _bad_ people, right?" Ellie clarified. "You'd be lying to _bad_ people?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Exactly. I keep my hands off the good ones." He paused and chuckled before kissing her neck. "Except for you, of course. Keeping my hands off you is very difficult. It might seem easy now, but it's taking every ounce of self-control I have."

"I accept your offer," Ellie told him with a wicked grin. "Bring on the blood and bad guys!"

"Good," Lucifer smiled. "I'm so glad you're on board. I was really worried that you wouldn't be, considering how your parents and grandparents don't believe in that sort of thing."

"Well, I don't have to do things exactly how they do, do I?" Ellie questioned, taking his face in her hands. "I mean, I've already moved in with you and it's not something they want. So who's to say I wouldn't want to have a different feeding philosophy than they do?"

"You know, that's a very good point," Lucifer agreed. "I never thought of it that way."

"As for keeping your hands off me," Ellie continued, "I think we need to talk about that. Can I assume that when you say you want to hold off on sex til the wedding, you mean actual sex? You, me, 'beast with two backs' sex?"

"Yes, that's what I mean," Lucifer nodded. "Exactly."

"So...it wouldn't be breaking the rules if we, say, touched each other?" Ellie questioned. "That would just be bending them a little."

"You know you're right," Lucifer realized. "And thank goodness, too. I was going to go mad if I had to wait much longer."

"Good for you for being honest about it," Ellie grinned and then kissed him, then paused for breath, then kissed him again and again, and again. Soon, they had pulled the covers over themselves, their hands roaming under pants and t-shirts, slow rubbing giving relief that was sorely needed, while elsewhere, his tongue swirled around her belly and lips touched the hot skin just above the waistband of her panties. "Can you stop right there?" She whispered. "Do you trust yourself?"

"I'm really trying," he told her. "I...I think I can." He then paused and got up to head to the bathroom to throw cold water on his face in an attempt to stop the throbbing of his erection. No, he told himself. Not now!

When he'd calmed down, he left the bathroom and found Ellie working on feeding the twins. "It's amazing they stayed asleep," she remarked. "We tried our best to be quiet, but...didn't exactly work, did it?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head and left the room to get a bottle for Vincent so he wouldn't have to wait while his sister was being fed. "No, we're just very lucky, I guess."

* * *

It was true that Christopher was mostly keeping to himself. He didn't find Lucifer or Ellie all that interesting. There was really only one person he cared about at all: Hannah. He wondered, after she'd left last time, if she was ever going to come back. He had to know. _Not_ knowing was driving him crazy.

That was why he consented to have breakfast with Lucifer, Ellie, and the twins, much to their surprise.

"How did you sleep?" Lucifer asked as eggs were set in front of Christopher and he began wolfing them down in a very animal-like way.

"Good," Christopher got out, some egg hanging out of his mouth. "Good." He swallowed. "But enough of the small talk. I didn't come down for that. What's Hannah said about me? Is she gonna come back at any point, or...?"

"Why are you asking about my sister?" Ellie asked. "She said she ran into you. Actually, her words were 'I know why you didn't want me to go into that room. There's a crazy guy in there'. Did you hurt her?"

"No!" Christopher shook his head. "I think I scared her, but I didn't hurt her!"

"If you did, it's not entirely your fault," Lucifer told him. "I know you don't have a lot of control over yourself yet."

"Is she coming again or not?" Christopher demanded.

"Maybe," Ellie shrugged. "I don't know. But you're gonna stay away from her, at least until you're more under control."

"No, I'm not," Christopher shook his head and stood up. "I'll do whatever I want." He then pushed his eggs away. "I'll be going now," he said in an icy voice. "Thanks for breakfast."

He strode away and Lucifer and Ellie looked at one another in silence.

"Well, that went better than I expected," Lucifer remarked at last. "I was honestly thinking we would get much worse."

"But what about my sister?" Ellie asked. "What if he's going to hurt her? We can't just let him roam around free if he's gonna hurt Hannah! Dad's already iffy about her coming here to begin with. Knowing we have someone in our house who could hurt her or who has lusty feelings for her could push him over the edge!"

"Maybe, but what your father doesn't seem to realize is that Hannah can handle herself in situations like that," Lucifer pointed out. "She's far from helpless. I think she's even bolder than you when it comes to acting in situations where she is in danger."

"True," Ellie nodded as she took Vincent out of his high chair and into her lap. "But I don't want her to get hurt if it can be avoided."

"Oh, I don't either," Lucifer agreed. "But the only way to avoid it completely is to never invite Hannah over again and we don't want to do that, do we?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "No, we don't. I like having her around. It makes me happy."

"Then I think the best we can do is warn her of Christopher's intentions," Lucifer decided. "That would be kindest, so she can prepare herself. Don't you think, Eleanor?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "I do."

* * *

"Thank you for warning me about Christopher," Hannah said next time she came over. "But honestly, I'm not worried. I can handle anything he dishes out."

"Okay, good," Ellie nodded. "We just don't want you to get hurt is all."

"Thanks," Hannah said. "He surprised me a little the first time, but I think I've got it all under control now."

"All right, but if he oversteps..." Ellie began.

"I'll kick his butt," Hannah promised her sister. "Don't worry. I'll be okay."

Later in the day, after she showered to get the pool chlorine out of her hair, she came into her room clad in a towel and was just about to change when there was a knock on her door. "Just a minute!" She called. "I'm wearing a towel!"

But that was not a deterrent as Christopher opened the door and grinned. "Thank you for telling me so I would know to come in," he said.

"Usually when people tell other people they're in their room with a closed door and dressed in a towel, it means they don't _want_ anyone to come in," Hannah explained, trying to keep her voice steady. "I know you're new to socializing with people so I'm going to give you a break this time and not push you out on your face into the hallway, but let you leave on your own. And make sure you lock the door behind you."

"I _would_ leave," he assured her, coming further into the room. "But I came in for a reason, you see. Your bridesmaid dress came and your sister wanted you to try it on and see if it fits properly."

"Well, thanks for bringing it to me," Hannah told him. "I'll do just that and let Ellie know. Goodbye!"

"I think I need to be here when you put it on," he insisted, looking at her intently. "If I leave, who will zip it for you?"

"I have magic," Hannah told him. "I can zip it myself."

"No, let me help you," Christopher told her. "I insist."

"You're not gonna leave until you get me in that dress, are you?" Hannah questioned.

"No," he said, getting close and showing he had no regard for her personal space as he moved a flyaway strand of dark hair out of her eyes. "There's really no point in arguing with me, so you might as well change now."

"Fine, but you better not peek when I'm naked!" Hannah said. "You keep your eyes closed!" She knew that it was a pointless thing to say; if he wanted to look, which she knew he did, he would look, regardless of what she asked. But she decided to appeal to the bit of decency he'd shown before and hope it worked.

To her surprise, he didn't watch her take off the towel and get into the underwear that would go underneath the dress. He didn't even look at her again until she was pulling the dress on. "You look really good," he remarked and came up behind her to zip her up. Then he whispered in her ear, his lip against her earlobe, "Really, _really_ good!"

Naturally, he didn't zip her up right away. That would be too good to be true. Instead, his hands lightly caressed her back and played with her hair, and then after he finally _did_ zip her up, he pulled her close against himself backward and began kissing her neck and shoulders, which was very easy to do because the neckline of the bridesmaid dress was sweetheart cut just like Ellie's, with the dress itself having a much narrower floor-length skirt without any fancy designs on it.

"You smell nice," he told her as he sniffed her. "How do you smell nice?"

"I just got out of the shower," she said. "Is showering a foreign concept to you?"

"Of course not," Christopher replied and shook her just a little. "How could you say that?"

"Well, I just assumed that because I heard you don't like to bathe very much or shower that you didn't know how!" Hannah replied. "Don't bite my head off!"

"Well, I do know how to shower for your information!" He fumed. Then an idea came into his head and he relaxed, a grin curving his lips. "But if...if you think I need some lessons when it comes to my personal hygiene, I'd be more than happy to let you join me whenever I take a bath or a shower. And trust me, I look really good wet and covered in bubbles."

"Why would I need to know that?" Hannah asked, wiggling uncomfortably as warmth pervaded her body. "Why the hell would I even care?" She shoved her elbow into his gut and got free of his grip, turning to face him angrily. "Thanks for your help with the dress, but I _really_ think you need to go now."

"Fine, I will!" Christopher spat, standing in the doorway, a very solid presence who could not be moved, no matter how much Hannah pushed. "But you'll want me to come back. I guarantee it."

"In your _dreams_!" Hannah cried.

"Oh, for sure!" Christopher nodded. "In the last one, I learned you look very good in tiny black panties!"

"Get out!" Hannah yelled. "Just get the _hell_ out!"

"Fine," Christopher smirked. "But it's your loss!" She watched him go and slammed the door closed, leaning against it until she got a breath, and then stepping away when she heard someone knock.

"Christopher, I told you that I wanted you to leave!" Hannah cried and grabbed the doorknob, pulling it open. "I-" She paused when she saw it was her sister instead.

"Are you all right?" Ellie questioned as she made her way in. "I can tell from what you're yelling that Christopher has been bothering you. I came to tell you that your bridesmaid dress has arrived and I need you to try it on, but it seems you've already done that. Does it feel right to you? Too tight or big anywhere?"

"No, it feels fine," Hannah replied and spun around. "No adjustment necessary. Christopher was the one who brought it in to me, by the way. His clever ploy to get into my room."

"I'm so sorry," Ellie apologized and helped her out of it. "Lucifer and I really need to teach him a thing or two about boundaries."

"Or _I_ could," Hannah suggested, thinking a kick or two to his crotch would be sufficient. "It might be more effective coming from me."

"All right," Ellie conceded. "Just be careful, though."

"I will," Hannah assured her. "You can stop sounding like Dad. I have this all under control."

"Whatever you say," Ellie agreed, even though she seriously doubted Hannah had anything under control at all when it came to Christopher. If his own parents struggled with him, how could she not? But there was no point in arguing when her sister seemed so certain. No point at all.

* * *

"Okay, let me have it," Josh said as he sat down on Katherine and Rodan's living room sofa after receiving a phone call from his father demanding that he come over for a chat. "Tell me how badly I reacted to Lucifer saying that he and Ellie were getting married and how ashamed you are of me for it, Dad."

"Well, you have the right to be upset," Rodan told him. "You've never quite been okay with this whole situation between Lucifer and Eleanor and I would be lying if I said I didn't understand why...but verbalizing it might not be a good thing. It's not like you saying that you're against it is going to make them decide not to get married. If you can't accept it for Ellie's sake, as something that will make her happy, it's just gonna drive you crazy."

"That's true," Katherine nodded. "When I married my husband before your father, Selina wasn't really for it either because my husband was her son and she and I have a very antagonistic history. But she was able to put her feelings aside and let him do what he wanted because his happiness was more important than her being right, and I think she realized that it was the right thing to do."

"Oh, but you don't understand!" Josh cried. "I'm not against the marriage because I'm petty! I'm against it because I'm genuinely concerned that something bad will happen to her if she goes through with it!"

"Has anything bad happened to her so far?" Katherine questioned.

"Well, no," Josh admitted. "I've even let Hannah visit and she's been okay, too. But..."'

"Get rid of the 'but'," Katherine advised. "The 'but' will drive you crazy. Let it go. Realize things aren't as bad as you think, and you'll feel better."

"Well, this is unexpected," Rodan remarked. "I didn't expect to hear such sage advice from you."

"With how you're acting about this, it's not going to come from you," Katherine replied. "So I'm the only one left!"

"I'm perfectly capable of giving good advice about this situation!" Rodan cried, looking affronted.

"Are you really?" Katherine asked. "Cause as calm as you seem now, you're as much in a fighting mood about this wedding as Josh is!"

"Well, better that than become a kiss ass like Dorian!" Rodan scoffed. "He's so desperately afraid that Lucifer will fire him that he's not questioning a single damn thing that happens!"

"And how will you question it?" Katherine asked. "You know that no matter what you say, things won't change, and if you fuss at Ellie about this now when she's clearly made her choice, you'll just alienate her."

"We'll do the only thing we can do," Rodan told her. "We'll object! Right when they ask if anyone has any objections, we'll object!"

"But that's not gonna change anything!" Katherine said. "She's still gonna marry him! She'll just do it away from you and never talk to you again. I told you that already!" She shook her head. "I swear! It's like you don't even listen to a word I say!"

"I do, when you say something useful," Rodan assured her. "It's just that this is not one of those times."

"Yes it is!" Katherine cried irritably. Her head was beginning to throb, which was something that usually happened when Rodan said anything. "But you know what? Whatever. You do what you want. For the sake of my sanity, I'm staying out of this."

"Good," Rodan told her. "That'd probably be best."

"But when it all blows up in your face, I _will_ be saying 'I told you so'!" Katherine called. "Don't think I won't!"

Then, when the sound of her voice finally died down, Rodan and Josh began to plan how they were going to make their objections heard at Ellie and Lucifer's wedding.


	37. Trusting Christopher

"Damn!" Hannah cried. She'd locked herself out of the house, and it was dark. She'd known she shouldn't have stayed out that extra hour to see that second movie! She'd felt it in her guts, but she'd ignored it and now she was paying the price cause the spell had been put on the windows to stop people from getting in that way! Everyone was in bed now and she didn't want to wake anyone up.

"Need some help?" Asked a voice that both sent a chill up her spine and made warmth pool in her belly.

"No, thanks," She said, turning to face Christopher. "I think I'll just...I'll sleep outside tonight and go inside in the morning. One night won't kill me."

"You'd do that even if you know that creepy and unpredictable me is roaming around out here?" He asked, bounding up the steps and looming over her. He was barely visible in the darkness.

"Oh, stop!" She said and turned, putting her hands on her hips, something she was sure he couldn't see, since she could barely make him out either.

"Can you see me?" He asked. "Here, let me help." He reached out, took her hand, and she let out a cry when he put it over his heart. His heart that beat under the bare skin of his chest. "I have a tent and some blankets not far," he told her. "I wouldn't let you freeze. Are you sure you'd rather stay out here instead of finding some way to get inside?"

"Yes," Hannah nodded. "I really don't want to wake anyone up. Can I trust you?"

"Yeah," Christopher nodded, leading her to his camping site that he'd built on the sly cause he missed being in the night air. "Of course you can trust me. Will we be sleeping naked to conserve body warmth?"

"No," Hannah shook her head. "I have pajamas." She zapped them up as he turned on a flashlight. "See?"

He chuckled at the flimsy fabric. "I think you'd be warmer without them and cuddling next to me," he remarked.

"Oh, wouldn't you wish?" Hannah smirked and zapped the night gown on. "I think that being cold and away from you is a risk I'm willing to take, thank you very much!"

"Whatever," Christopher shrugged. "You can do what you want. It's your life. But when you get cold, just know that I'll be here."

"That's good to know," Hannah replied and snuggled under the sleeping bag, closing her eyes. "Good night, Christopher."

"Good night," he whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek lightly. "Sleep well."

* * *

The last thing that Hannah wanted was to see the smirk on Christopher's face when he realized she knew he'd been right about her being cold and she'd been wrong. So when it began to rain and a cold breeze made its way through a crack in the tent's fabric, instead of cuddling next to Christopher like a sensible person would, she curled up in a ball, resting her side against the side of the tent and tried to focus on not shivering.

But she couldn't fool him. He could clearly see how she was suffering. "I told you that you wouldn't last long in that silly nightgown," he reminded her, pulling her close and clearly feeling her shiver as he tried to warm her up with his body heat, although it didn't work as quickly as he would have liked. "Now you're all wet. Why don't you get that thing off before you get sick?"

"I'm a vampire," Hannah reminded him. "And a demon. I don't get sick."

"Well, you'd be more comfortable, anyway," Christopher pointed out.

"You have a point," Hannah sighed and leaned back so their chests were no longer touching. "All right. Shleld your eyes!"

"I'm a bit hungry so I'm going to be heading out anyway," Christopher informed her. "Having all the blankets to yourself for a little while might help you warm up."

"Thanks," Hannah told him. "See you later."

"No problem," Christopher told her from outside the tent.

Once she was sure he was gone, she stripped off her wet clothes, did the best she could to dry herself off, and snuggled under the sleeping bag again. It wasn't much better than before, but at least she could be grateful that she wasn't wet.

When Christopher returned, he saw her night gown waded up in a corner of the tent and smiled with satisfaction. "Thank you for listening to me," he said. "I can see you're not shivering anymore."

"Well, I'm shivering less, anyway," Hannah told him. "I'm still sort of cold."

"You want me to fix that?" He asked her. "Or not?"

It was a few seconds before she turned and stared at him. "You know, ordinarily, I wouldn't encourage you, because I know why you're asking, believe me. But now I'm so cold that I'd do anything to get warm. Even let you get close to me. So get in here."

Christopher shrugged. "Not the most gracious invitation I've ever heard, but I'll take it."

When he climbed in beside her, she gasped as his face began to change. It became riddled with scars, and his eyes were jet black. His teeth lengthened, as did his nails.

"What's happening to you?" Hannah whispered, her eyes widening as she tried to squirm free of the sleeping bag. "Christopher, what's _happening?"_

"This is what I really look like," he said in a distorted voice. "I know I'm a monster, but I showed you because I thought you wouldn't run away." He sighed. "I guess I was wrong."

"No," Hannah shook her head. "You're not. I'm just...we'll I'm a little surprised is all. Are you...are you going to hurt me?"

"No," Christopher shook his head and took her hand, stroking her palm gently and trying not to scratch her with his nails. "I would never hurt you. At least not on purpose." He paused. "You know, you're one of the few people I've met in my life that I'm not afraid of. I know my parents care, but my mom pushes. She wants so hard for me to fit in and be normal and I...I don't know if I can do it."

"Hey, I hear you," Hannah replied. "I can tell my dad doesn't want me to come here, either...associating with the really bad demons and the devil and all. He thinks you all will influence me in a bad way and I'll not be his little girl anymore."

"And are you worried about being influenced in a bad way?" Christopher asked. He was still beastly-looking, but his voice was less distorted now. She could nearly understand what he was saying without guessing.

"No, I'm not worried," she got out. "I think I'm pretty good at deciding for myself what behavior is right and wrong."

"Are you still cold?" He asked. "I bet you are."

"It's not as bad as it was when I was wearing that wet night gown, but yeah," Hannah finally admitted and reached out to stroke the scars on Christopher's face. "What happened here?" She asked. "Or is it not my business?"

"When I was little, whenever I would get upset, I would change into this form," he said. "Or part of it, anyway. And to deal with the hurt, I would scratch my face."

"I'm sorry," Hannah replied. "Do you...do you still feel like that ever?"

"No," Christopher shook his head. "Not anymore. I can deal with it better now." He paused. "I thought of a way to warm you up, but you'll have to trust me. Do you?"

"We're in close quarters when you're in what you're basically telling me is a dangerous and unpredictable form," Hannah reminded him. "Of course I trust you. I don't know how, but I...I know I can."

"Good," Christopher nodded. "Cause I think this might really help you." He bit his wrist and offered it to her, and even though he knew it was coming (cause how else would he know to offer her blood?) he was still a little shocked when she hissed and revealed a full set of fangs, and her eyes became jet black and veiny. Then she pounced and drank greedily for a minute or so before she finally let his wrist go, panting heavily and licking the blood that didn't make it into her mouth off her chin.

"Thanks..." she got out. "Thanks a lot. I didn't even know I needed that."

"Well, I'm glad it helped," Christopher told her, and leaned forward. "You still have a bit on you. Can I? Do you mind?"

"No," Hannah shook her head. "Is it some kink you have or do you need it?"

"I'm a vampire too," he told her. "But in this case, it's a bit of both."

She grinned and closed her eyes as he licked the last bit of blood off her chin and leaned back, watching as she opened her eyes once more, his hands running down her arms in yet another attempt to warm her up. Thankfully, all their combined efforts seemed to be working.

Then, they stared at each other in silence for a second or two before they pounced on one another at the exact same time, kissing in a fashion that seemed more like they were devouring each other's faces.

Although it was tight quarters with both of them squeezed into one sleeping bag, they managed to maneuver so that Christopher was on top of Hannah. He put his hands on either side of her face and then, as he leaned down to kiss her, his features slowly morphed back to human. "I bet you're glad about that," he remarked. He could feel the difference in his features. "You'd probably rather make love to someone who looks human rather than beastly."

"I don't really care either way," Hannah told him. "I think both are nice. She gave him a smile and that was it for him. He kissed her again and after telling her to hold on tight to him, he began pushing into her with such force that the tent collapsed on both of them, but by the time they were finished, they were too tired to try and put it up again and just fell asleep in each other's arms with the red ted covering them instead, not waking up until Ellie's shriek of surprise roused them the next morning.

* * *

"Oh...oh, geez! Oh, damn! _Why_?" Ellie cried out in anguish after arriving back in her and Lucifer's bedroom and slamming the door closed. "I just saw something that I will _not_ be able to unsee! Now I know why Oedipus poked out his eyes!"

"What's happened?" Lucifer asked as he ran over to her to guide her back to bed. "Is Christopher doing bad things?"

"He's doing Hannah!" Ellie cried. "I told you we should have left the spell off of the doors for a bit longer in case she got home late from the movies! But she got locked out and slept outside with Christopher, and when I found them, they were wet and naked and it just...ugh!" She shuddered.

"Is someone starting to sound like dear old Dad?" Lucifer asked. "Are you judging your sister for her little fling?"

"The fling is not what I'm worried about!" Ellie shook her head. "It freaks me out a little, but she can do what she wants when it comes to that. But he could have hurt her! It's very lucky that he didn't." She sighed. "I'm going to have a word with her when she comes in."

"No, don't," Lucifer said, running to block the door. "It's my fault. I'll talk to her."

"Okay," Ellie nodded. "Thanks. Since you're the only one that handle this with a clear head now, that's probably a good idea. I'll look after the twins instead."

While Ellie did that, Lucifer dressed and strode to the kitchen at a leisurely pace, sitting down at the breakfast table with some coffee just as Hannah and Christopher made their way into the house.

"Good morning, children," he grinned at them over his coffee cup. "Sorry you were locked out, Hannah. But I see you found a place to sleep after all. Did you have a good night?"

"Go ahead and say it," Hannah told him with a sigh. "Be freaked out like Ellie was. I can take it."

"Oh, you forget who you're talking to!" Lucifer reminded her, a smirk on his lips. "I have absolutely no problem with what you decided to do. Especially if in your heads you told yourselves that you did it for some reason like trying to keep warm."

"That's what it started out as," Christopher told him. "She wore this ridiculously flimsy night gown even though I told her that wouldn't help much."

"But you can't blame me for thinking you were spouting illogical nonsense at first!" Hannah pointed out. "What you said just...it doesn't seem logical. Why would taking off my clothes lead to me being warmer than if I kept them on?"

"I don't know how to explain it exactly," Christopher told her. "But I know that I've spent more time sleeping outside than you have so you should have listened to me! If you would have, you wouldn't have shivered for so long!"

"This is cute," Lucifer grinned, looking back and forth between them. "Please, keep going."

"No," Hannah shook her head. "The point is made and I'm done. Is there any more coffee?"

"Yes, the pot's over there on the counter," Lucifer pointed. "Have as much as you want. Then we can talk about how Christopher is your mate."

"My what?" Hannah asked. "What are you talking about?" She poured her coffee and then joined Lucifer and Christopher at the kitchen table, catching Christopher's eye. "Do you have any idea what he's talking about?"

"It's a werewolf thing," Christopher told her. "You get very strongly attached to someone physically, and you're really attuned to things about them, especially their scent."

"Was that what you were talking about when you caught me after I got out of the shower?" Hannah asked. "You weren't just talking about my shampoo, were you?"

"No," Christopher shook his head. "Actually, I found your shampoo kind of distracting." He paused. "Do you feel the same way about me? Do you know what we're talking about?"

"No," Hannah said immediately, her sister's horrified face flashing in front of her eyes and cutting into her deep. She couldn't bear being on bad terms with Ellie, and clearly this put her down that road. "Nope, not a bit. Thanks for keeping me warm and all that. It was a big help, but I really...I really don't think we should do this again." She then sped from the room and didn't look at Christopher again.

"Don't mind her," Lucifer urged when he saw how down the boy looked. "She just needs time. This is all very sudden."

"Oh, it's all right," Christopher told him. "I'm used to everyone rejecting me. What's one more?"

"You don't have to be tough, you know," Lucifer told him. "If it's a problem, you can say it's a problem."

Then Christopher pounded on the table, his demon self showing once again. "It's just not fair!" He growled. "How could she lead me on like that? How could she let me think that she cared and then just act like nothing happened? I didn't think she had it in her to be so cruel!"

Lucifer looked down at the dent in his formerly immaculate wood dining table. "All right. You're expressing your feelings. This is good. But there are better ways than beating up on the furniture. Why don't you come with me and I'll show you a few?"

"That's a good idea," Christopher nodded. "I need to get out of here."

"Where are you going?" Ellie asked as they headed toward the door, the younger man's distress very visible. "Christopher, are you okay?"

"Your sister is making him feel bad," Lucifer told her. "And you are too. So I'm taking him out to feel better. If we're not back for lunch, tell Dexter not to wait up for us."

"Be careful!" Ellie called after him. "Don't do anything stupid!"

"I would never, Eleanor!" Lucifer called jovially. "You should know that by now."


	38. The Downside Of A Conscience

"You know, you really should have thought about this before you went and had sex with Christopher," Ellie sighed as she drove her car up to the pharmacy. She got out and helped Hannah out of the backseat. "Come on. We have to get your birth control. And some condoms, too."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Hannah sighed. "You won't say anything to Mom and Dad about this, will you? I've already told Christopher that we won't be doing it again."

"I'm not an idiot," Ellie told her. "There's not a chance I'm mentioning it to Mom and Dad. You want Dad to have a heart attack when he finds out that both his daughters are having sex with men he can't stand?"

"Why are you so cranky?" Hannah asked as they made their way into the store. "How long has it been since _you've_ had sex?"

"None of your business when," Ellie snapped. "That's how long. Instead of focusing on me, just focus on how lucky you are that you're not pregnant. That's _really_ lucky."

Hannah rolled her eyes as they made their way into the pharmacy, then blushed bright red and looked down at her shoes as Ellie asked her to tell the pharmacist why they were there. Ellie knew they could have gotten the pills at the drug store, but she wanted to make sure that her sister learned to be more careful in the future.

Finally, Hannah took a deep breath, looked the lady on the other side of the counter in the eye, and said, "Could you give me some of those 'morning after' pills, please? I need them." She then waited to be mocked or taunted, but the woman just nodded and said, "All right," reaching behind the counter and grabbing a box, then putting it in a bag and giving Ellie the price. Ellie paid for the pills, grabbed a few boxes of condoms at Ellie's urging, and then they got in the car and headed back home.

"Are you happy that you had your chance to humiliate me?" Hannah huffed at her sister as they went into the house. "That's what all this is about, right? You're not getting any and are taking it out on me! Would you just go tell Luci that you want to go to bed with him already? I'm sure he'd be more than happy to let you."

"No, he won't," Ellie scoffed. "Not when he's so determined to be celibate until our wedding!" She watched Hannah stomp away, pills in hand. "And don't mention any of what you did to Dad or Mom!"

"What do you think I am, an idiot?" Hannah called back. "You don't have to tell me twice!"

* * *

After dealing with Hannah, Ellie took the twins and retreated to a small room that she'd begun using in secret for yoga as a way to make herself more limber for her honeymoon. She placed the babies on a small mat next to hers and then put the DVD on that she used, with the hope that as she worked on twisting herself like a pretzel, one or both of the twins would do something like try and crawl. She'd seen them try when they thought she wasn't looking. She knew it was coming.

But alas, they just stared at her mostly, except for when she was bent over backwards. Then they would roll onto their backs and stare at her upside down for a change of pace.

Finally, when the yoga program was over, she turned it off, then got down on her knees to rub the twins' bellies. "It's okay if you don't craw for me now," she assured them. "I can wait. It will happen." Then she looked up at the clock and realized it was time for their bottles, and everything went well until burping time when the burps ended up leaving tiny singe marks on the shoulders of the purple hoodie Ellie wore over her workout clothes.

"Are they crawling for you yet?" Dexter asked her with a grin as she put them in his care to go take a shower. "I've been telling them to."

"No!" Ellie shook her head in amazement. "Why is it that they do it for you and not for me?" She looked both babies right in the eyes. "You sneaky people!"

"I'll tell the boss you're in the shower if he comes back before you're done," Dexter assured her as she headed for the door.

"Thanks!" Ellie told him and gave him a salute. "I appreciate it, buddy."

* * *

"Oh, good golly!" Ellie cried and reached for a towel when she opened the shower door and saw Lucifer on the small bench by the tub. He was grinning widely at her.

"Why are you so shocked to see me?" He said. "Dexter told me that you knew I'd be in here."

"Oh, I know," Ellie nodded. "I just...I didn't expect to see you right outside the shower door. I mean, I would if you weren't on this stupid celibacy kick, but...do you mind if we end it? Can we? Please?"

"It's making you be mean to your sister so I suppose that for the sake of familial harmony, we can end it," Lucifer nodded. "I can be a big enough man to do that."

"Oh, like it's a big bother to you!" Ellie gave him a look.

"Yeah, you're right," Lucifer nodded. "It's not. It's a shame you've showered already. We could have had a good time."

"Well, it's not like I can only shower once," Ellie reminded him. "There'll be other times." She sat down next to him on the bench. "How was work?"

"Work was just work," he said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her. "I like being at home much better."

"Good," Ellie grinned. "I'm glad to hear that." She paused. "Have the twins crawled for you too? I tried to get them to do it for me, but they won't, and Dexter says they do it for him."

"No, I haven't seen that yet," Lucifer shook his head. "I'm just as much in the dark about that as you are." He then noticed the singe marks on the shoulders of her hoodie. "Did the twins set you on fire?" He asked, his eyes widening as he swept her into his arms. "Are you okay?"

"It was okay," Ellie assured him in a muffled voice because her face was squished against his chest. "Just little burps and small sparks is all. Nothing to worry about."

"But fire can kill you!" Lucifer cried. "I wouldn't want you to die! Especially when I wasn't at home to prevent it!"

He looked so stricken that she gave him a smile and whispered in his ear, "I love you too." And this time when she said it, she really and truly meant it as he took her in his arms and carried her to bed, setting her down on the mattress so she could watch him undress, then joining her in bed and helping her off with the towel as they held each other close and made love until they both found it hard to catch a breath and collapsed side by side under their blankets.

* * *

After Hannah had rejected him, Christopher took to his room again and refused to leave. He wouldn't take his meals and when Ellie and Lucifer tried to talk to him, he wouldn't let them in. He wouldn't even let Lucifer take him out drinking again.

"What should we do?" Ellie asked. "We have to get him to eat somehow. We can't just let him starve. What would we tell his mother?"

"Well if he won't let us in to help him, then what should we do?" Lucifer asked. "Hannah's probably the only one he'd let in."

"And we're not sending her if she doesn't want to go," Ellie said firmly. They lapsed into silence and tried to think of what to do. Then Lucifer snapped his fingers. "I've got it! What if we send Dexter? He's nice enough that he can get anyone to talk."

"I think we could try it," Ellie nodded. She then headed to the twins' room where Dexter was playing with them. "Would you mind trying to talk to Christopher?" She requested. "He won't talk to us and he's not eating, and I'm very concerned."

"Sure," Dexter nodded and stood up with Valerie in his arms. "I don't know if it'll work, but I can try."

They walked to his room and knocked on his door.

"Unless you're Hannah, you're not coming in!" Christopher called. "All I want to hear is Hannah's apology!"

"I'm sure we can work something out," Dexter told him after making his way inside. "Want me to help you come up with a plan to get her to talk to you again?"

"No!" Christopher shook his head. "She's rejected me! I'm not gonna crawl back to her and beg her to start talking to me again! If you want to help me fix us, you should be telling her to beg me for _my_ forgiveness!"

"Well, frankly, I don't think that's gonna happen at this point," Dexter said. "And staying in here until it does is just a big waste of time. And besides, if she sees you suffering like this, that's kind of like telling her that she's won, isn't it?"

"Hey, you're right!" Christopher jumped to his feet. "You know, I never thought of it that way. I'm gonna leave this room and show her just what she's missing out on!"

"Good!" Dexter replied. "We'll get you a shower and some new clothes and then we'll go from there."

"It's okay," Christopher told him. "I can do that stuff myself. You don't have to help me. Just go find Hannah and throw the fact that I don't care about her in her face, okay?"

"All right," Dexter sighed. "Not what I had in mind, but all right." He sighed as he left the room and went to talk to Lucifer and Ellie instead of Hannah, as Christopher had requested.

"Did you get through to him?" Ellie asked. "Is he gonna come out and eat something?"

"Oh, yes," Dexter nodded. "I got him to do that, all right. He also has it in his head that coming out will prove to Hannah that her rejection didn't affect him."

"Well, I think it's a bit late for him to try and show that now," Lucifer told Dexter. "It's clear that what Hannah did had an effect on him."

"Yes, but for the sake of everyone's sanity, we're gonna play along and pretend that it didn't," Ellie said firmly. "Otherwise, he'll just go in his room again and never come out."

She then made her way to her sister's room. Hannah hadn't locked herself away, and was looking through her closet to find something to wear out that night. "Would you mind staying in tonight?" Ellie asked.

"Do I have to?" Hannah questioned. "If I knew that my only option for the evening was to just stay home, I wouldn't have come over here. Lucifer gave me the address of this great club that he's thinking of rebuilding and he wanted me to go check it out."

"Maybe you could take Christopher with you!" Ellie suggested. "That would be fun, right? No likes to go clubbing on their own. And you don't have a lot of friends yet, so I think you should take him."

"I thought he was throwing a fit about how I don't like him the way he wants and staying in his room," Hannah remarked. "So what's the point?"

"He's decided to come out," Ellie replied. "Please take him."

"I don't want to be his babysitter," Hannah huffed. "That already got me in trouble once, something you were not shy to point out. I don't know why you want to risk a repeat."

"I'm asking specifically because I know there won't _be_ a repeat," Ellie said. "Take him with you, have a good night...and I'll owe you one."

"Damn right you will," Hannah nodded. "I deserve more in life than being a baby-sitter for a psycho demon. Even if, when he's sane, he's a good looking one."

"See?" Ellie grinned. "You think he's good-looking. A perfect reason to take him out."

"You're not just gonna let me do this alone, are you?" Hannah narrowed her eyes.

"No," Ellie shook her head. "Take him. I insist."

Hannah rolled her eyes, grabbed an outfit, got dressed, and then went in search of Christopher, who was, of course, stuffing his face.

"Hey," Hannah told him. "Ellie says I have to take you to a club with me. Let's go."

Christopher stared cluelessly at her, his face bulging with food, before he finally swallowed. "You're asking me to go on a date with you?" He asked. "Well, I wouldn't go on a date with you if someone paid me to. Or you begged me."

"This is not a date!" Hannah insisted. "Ellie thinks you need to get out of the house and I'm the way you're doing it. And don't flatter yourself. I'm not thrilled about it, either. Now let's just go and get this over with."

* * *

"So how is it?" Lucifer asked Hannah over the phone as she and Christopher made their way into and through the abandoned Underground club. "Does it look like a place worth saving?"

"Sure," Hannah nodded, looking around after she got the lights switched on. They'd gotten in with the key Lucifer had gotten from Dorian, who was very pleased that the club might be opening again. It was still very neatly decorated and all in one piece. All that was missing was the crowds. "I think you could do something with it. Come down and have a look yourself."

"All right," Lucifer told her. "I will. Thank you, Hannah."

"You're welcome," Hannah told him, just as Christopher made his way to the stereo. "Wanna dance?" He shouted over the pulsing music.

"I don't know!" Hannah shouted. "Do you know how or will you just crush my toes?"

"I don't know," Christopher grinned. "But there's a first time for everything, isn't there?" He began to dance in an awkward fashion, completely ignoring the rhythm of the song. Hannah was embarrassed at first and looked away from him, but then realized how much fun he was having and decided to get up and dance with him.

"You don't even need a drink first?" He asked. "That surprises me."

"I'm not drinking around you," Hannah told him. "That's a risk I don't want to take."

"Cause you think that if your inhibitions are down, you'll just be so overwhelmed by how attractive I am that we'll have another romantic encounter?" Christopher grinned and reached out for her hand. "Come on. You had fun with me. Admit it."

"It was...it was okay, considering that I had to do it," Hannah admitted. "It wasn't horrible." She then gave him a smile and let him take her hand, bringing her into a graceful twirl, ending with him holding her tight against his body. It felt good. Not that Hannah would ever tell him that. Or maybe she would. But not yet, that was for sure. It was too early.

But she let him have one dance, trying not to show that she was enjoying herself too much, and then after that, he said, "Wanna have that drink now?"

"All right," Hannah nodded. "But just a little one. I'm not much of a drinker."

"I can do that," Christopher nodded, looking for a small glass and something sweet, like kahlua. He found it and gave it to her, then took a beer for himself. "Cheers?" He asked her and held his bottle out.

"Cheers," Hannah replied, clinking his bottle, quickly looking away from him and focusing on her drink instead.

* * *

"I don't need anything fancy," Maeve said as she walked into a bar and sat down. "Just a double shot of whiskey will do."

"All right," the bartender grinned. "I like you. That's what I like myself, especially after a long week."

"I agree," Maeve remarked. "You would not believe the sort of people I have to work with. My boss's fiancee just asked me to be a bridesmaid at her wedding."

"What's the problem with that?" asked the bartender as she pushed the drink toward her. "I thought people liked weddings."

"Not me," Maeve shuddered. "Not really my thing." She took the glass. "Thanks for my drink." She then spun around just in time to see Junior walk through the bar door with a dark-haired, dark-eyed woman on his arm.

He asked his date to sit down and approached the bar, and greeted the bartender by name.

"Hi, Roxie," he said with a smile. "Any news about the Underground re-opening?"

"Nothing yet, but I hope we can get it rebuilt soon. I liked working there better than at a tiny bar like this. Do you want your usual, Sean?" Roxie asked. "I'll give you an extra shot of something if you tell me who your friend is."

"How do you two know each other?" Maeve asked. "You've been with her, _Sean?"_

"No," Junior spat. "She's my great-great aunt, or something like that, if you must know. Not that I owe you any explanation."

"And what about your date?" Maeve pressed. "Looks kind of familiar. Kind of looks like Eleanor's mom. You're not trying to get back together with Eleanor's mom, are you? No, that wouldn't work. So you're dating similar-looking women as a way to pretend." She chuckled. "That's pathetic. Could you be any more of a loser?"

"Would you keep your voice down?" Junior asked irritably. "And no, that is not why I'm with her. Haven't you heard of a 'type'?"

"Yes," Maeve nodded. "And your type is creepy because it's women that look like your ex." She then hopped off the stool and headed over to the table where Junior's date was sitting as he tried futilely to hold her back.

"Hi," she said to the woman and took a seat next to her. "I'm Maeve. What's your name?"

"Shelly," the woman replied with a smile.

"Well, Shelly, how long have you known Sean here?" Maeve questioned.

"Not long," Shelly shrugged. "We met at a party thrown by friends last night and this is our first official date."

Maeve turned to glare at Junior. "Your first official date with this woman is at a bar?" She elbowed him in the gut. "Nice work."

"Hey!" Junior cried. "That is none of your business!"

Maeve then turned back to Shelly. "Did he tell you that you resemble his old girlfriend that he's still in love with?"

"No," Shelly shook her head. "He didn't mention that."

"Well, it's true," Maeve replied. "You look like his old girlfriend and that's why he asked you out. You deserve better. Go find it."

"Hey!" Junior complained as Shelly left the bar. "What the hell did you do that for?" He paused. "Is this some really terrible way of saying you want me for yourself? Cause really, finding a demon or a guy like Lucifer would be better for you."

Maeve chuckled and straddled him. "Oh, I'm not really a relationship person," she said, enjoying the look of arousal and horror on his face as she ran the back of her hand down his cheek. "I'm just in it for the sex. You know how that feels, right?"

"Yeah, I..." Junior said. "I do. I like it."

"That figures," Maeve replied. "I knew that's what you would say." She looked around with a grin on her face as people stared. "Everyone's watching us," she told him."Wanna really give them something to remember?"

He let her kiss him and then squirmed out of the reach of her hands. "No, no, not here," he shook his head. "I prefer to do it in private."

"Okay," Maeve sighed and rolled her eyes. "It's not as much fun, but it's something, I guess."

"What do you mean," Junior chuckled. "Are you saying you actually want to have sex with me?"

"Well, ordinarily, I wouldn't, cause 'conventionally attractive but horny weasel' is not my type," Maeve replied as she got off of him and ran a finger down his arm. "But lucky for you, I'm in kind of a dry spell and desperate. If it's you or nothing, I'll take you."

"Not the most gracious offer I've ever had, but you _did_ ask first, and despite your extremely unpleasant personality, I find you attractive too," Junior told her. "So let's get to my bed and do this!"

"Just a minute now," Maeve stopped him, a contract appearing out of thin air, a bunch of fancy writing on it that he had to squint to read. "Let's make this official so you don't do anything like tell people we're seeing each other. I can just see you bragging to your friends that you're with someone as good-looking as me."

"Oh, you'd do the same about me," Junior told her. "Come on, I know it."

"I can have anyone I want," Maeve told him. "The only reason why I'm giving you a glance is because your here and I'm desperate. No human really meets my criteria. Now, read the damn contract and sign it so we can get on with this."

"This isn't some trick you're in on with your boss, is it?" He asked, hesitating with his pen on the parchment. "This isn't his way of getting revenge for my past wrongs against Ellie by getting you to sell him my soul so he can torture me forever."

"No," Maeve shook her head. "As much as you deserve that, this deal is all mine. On my honor, he has nothing to do with it."

"Well, all right, then," Junior replied as he read it over. "I will not tell anyone about this, I will not ask you for more than sex, I will not use you as a food source, I will not make you use missionary pose, I will always let you be on top-" He paused and turned to her. "Wait a minute. I'm not going to agree to that!"

"Fine," Maeve replied, nibbling on his ear. "But it's your loss. Take it all or leave it all." She began walking away and gave her bottom a shake as she did so.

"Oh, damn!" Junior swore, running his fingers through his hair and just knowing he was going to regret this. "Okay, okay! I'll sign the damn contract!"

"Good," Maeve smiled to herself and handed him the paper back. "You just might have some brains in your head after all." She reached out and cupped his crotch. "Or maybe it's not your brains that wanted you to sign the contract after all, huh?" She chuckled. "You don't have to answer that. We both know." She watched him sign the contract and then, took it once he made his last flourish, folding it up after the ink dried and putting it in a folder on the front seat.

"Let's go to your house," she told him. "We'd be interrupted at mine. I hope you have a big, roomy bed."

"Oh, I do," Junior told her as he started the car. "Don't worry."

* * *

The next day, just as Lucifer was making plans for re-opening the Underground because of how promising Hannah had made it sound, he was interrupted by a knock on his door. He looked up to see a brunette with big blue eyes he'd never seen, but who looked vaguely familiar, standing in the doorway for a second or two before striding up to his desk.

"I have something I want to say to you," she demanded. "And I don't care if you're the devil, you're gonna listen to me and listen good! Before you made all the demons go back to hell, Dorian ran a club called the Underground. It was a really fun place to work and I made good money. So did my husband. I was the bartender/manager and he did all the repair work and was a bartender part time.

"When you shut it down, I had to take boring jobs at boring bars. No place was ever as fun as the Underground. We're not counting the place that I was in charge of cause that wouldn't be fair. My point is, you better open up the Underground again, or you will pay and pay big, Mister."

"Are you done?" Lucifer asked. "Usually when people come barging into my office and talk to me the way you did, they don't get as far as you did. And it's only because you're vaguely familiar to me that I don't want to kill you."

"Well, I'm done," Roxie told him. "Spoke my piece. Just wanted to give you something to think about. Have a good day." She then turned on her heel and strode out of the office without another word, and just when Lucifer had settled down to work on the plans again, he was interrupted.

"What is it now?" He growled. "If it's not urgent, go away or I'll kill you!"

He looked up and saw Selina. "What?"

"I just wondered what my daughter wanted," Selina asked. "Did she talk to you about opening the Underground again? She really loves that place."

This simple pronouncement made Lucifer freeze. No. It couldn't be. But already, his mind was drifting back, to a time and a bad, callous deed he thought he'd never have to think about again...

 _"This is so great, isn't it?" Sera asked him as she grinned at Lucifer from the other side of the mattress. "Three times you've gone to bed with me! I thought you told me you didn't like to mix business with pleasure!"_

 _"Well, darling," he grinned at her. "Pleasure is my business. Don't forget about that."_

 _"Oh, you're so funny!" Sera grinned and gave a yawn. "Damn!" She cried as she looked at the clock on the bedside table. "Nearly three in the morning and I gotta be to work at eight."_

 _"Well, damn," Lucifer clicked his teeth. "What a shame!"_

 _"We should do this again, huh?" Sera questioned. "See you tomorrow night? I'll keep your half of the bed warm for ya! And if you're nice to me, I'll even make you dinner. And breakfast! I'm a pretty good cook, you know."_

 _"Right," Lucifer nodded and gave her a forced grin. She was radiating desperation now. It was terribly unattractive. If he went out with her again, her hooks would be in him and he would never break free._

 _That was when he came to a decision as Dexter drove him back to his house._

 _"I'm gonna end things with her," he told him. "She's getting too close! It's uncomfortable for me! No wonder all those men want to leave her!"_

 _"And how is your leaving her going to help?" Dexter questioned. "You know what she's been through in her life. You know why she's like this. Don't be part of the problem."_

 _"Oh, now you're trying to make me feel guilty," Lucifer sighed. "If it makes you feel better, I'm not planning on killing her."_

 _"That's a step up," Dexter told him. "What do you plan on doing instead?"_

 _"I'm just gonna make her forget we were ever together," Lucifer told him. "My powers can do that."_

 _"And what if she ends up expecting your child?" Dexter asked. "If you're not going to kill her, that could very well be possible."_

 _"Do you want me to kill her, or not?" Lucifer asked. "Make up your mind!"_

 _"Well, I don't want you to," Dexter snapped. "It's a terrible practice. But I don't want some poor girl roaming around with a child she can't handle because you want to shirk your responsibilities."_

 _"I just wanted to have a little fun, Dexter!" Lucifer whined. "I wanted to see what all the other guys liked. It didn't occur to me that I would see exactly what they're running away from! And she won't get pregnant! She's a vampire! She can't!_

 _He did the spell on her. She completely forgot their relationship...and then the next day, he heard from Hazel that Selina would be able to be pregnant in spite of her vampirism. He'd shrugged it off then, but now..._

"Are you listening to me?" Selina cried. "What did you say to my daughter?"

"I've actually been making plans to fix the Underground and open it again myself," Lucifer told her, his eyes wide. "Tell her that I'm doing that. I promise! I won't let her down!"

"Okay, good!" Selina nodded. "What's wrong with you? Why do you look so terrified?"

Damn Eleanor for giving him a conscience!

"We were together in the twenties after I made the deal with you," he blurted out, his words tumbling over each other. "I did it more with you than with other people, but then you got needy and I decided to end things, but I liked you so I didn't want to kill you. I made you forget our relationship instead. Then you got pregnant and you had my daughter but you couldn't say anything cause I ran away like a coward, but when I saw her stride in the room today...I'm sorry. I'm just really sorry!"

Selina's jaw dropped. For a second, she was confused. She opened her mouth to correct him, that Roxie was not, in fact, his daughter. But then, the impact of his words hit her hard. He'd ditched her. Like all the other men in the twenties had done. He'd taken what he'd wanted from her and abandoned her once he'd had it. What a jerk! She couldn't kill him, but...she could get her revenge another way. Something _much_ more painful. "May I leave early today?" She asked sweetly.

"Yes," Lucifer nodded, still overcome with guilt and unable to meet her eyes. "Take off the rest of the damn day if you want!"

"All right," Selina nodded with a wide grin. She then got in her pink bug and drove to the bar where Roxie worked and got a drink. "I have a plan that is wicked, spiteful, and dishonest. But to carry it out, I'm gonna need your help," she told Roxie. "Are you in?"

"Yeah!" Roxie grinned. "I didn't think you were into spiteful, wicked, dishonest plans! I thought those went out with Lonely Heart."

"Well, Lonely Heart's temporarily back in business," Selina grinned.

"Who are we gonna kill?" Roxie grinned, rubbing her hands. She'd always wanted to be part of a Lonely Heart plan.

"We're not gonna kill _anybody_ ," Selina told her. "We can't. This is more _psychological_ torture. Lucifer is planning on re-opening the Underground. And if he ever runs into you and mentions something about being your father and being sorry that he's let you down all these years, go along with it, okay?"

"Why?" Roxie asked.

"Why does it matter?" Selina questioned. "Just do it!"

"Okay," Roxie nodded, a little surprised by how pushy her mother was being but a bit frightened to point it out. "I will."

"Thanks," Selina grinned. "Gin," she requested. "On the rocks."


	39. Playing Mind Games

"That's it?" Maeve groaned and got off Junior. "I thought you were good at this!"

"I am!" Junior assured her. "I've never had a problem like this before. Maybe it's _you_! Did you ever think of that? Maybe if you dressed, you know...more like a woman, it would be easier for me to be aroused!"

"How can it be me? How can _I_ be the problem?" Maeve asked. "You should be damn lucky to be with a woman like me!"

"Oh, yeah, real lucky," Junior scoffed.

Maeve growled at him, and then got on him again. "How can nothing be happening!" She growled after a little bit. "This is all your fault! I blame you!"

"If that's how we're looking at this, then we'll never figure out the problem," Junior countered and reached for his shirt. He was very certain that their problems weren't due to him, and that she was just trying to cover up her own inadequacies. "You seemed pretty hot at the idea of us doing it right there in the restaurant when everyone was looking. Maybe being locked in a room by ourselves doesn't work for you."

"I am not the problem!" Maeve snapped through her teeth. She had repeated this several times already.

"Will you just try my solution?" Junior asked. "Please?"

"No," Maeve replied stubbornly. "I'm gonna go get a drink and then we'll try this again."

Junior sighed and then sat up once she was gone. He'd never hated sex so much. He never thought he'd meet a woman who would make him hate it at all. And it wasn't like she wasn't attractive. She was! She was just insane. That was all. And he was beginning to wonder if he would ever be able to work around that particular flaw.

When she came back (with handcuffs), he'd decided that he'd had enough for now. "Why bother?" He asked. "It's not gonna be good enough for you. Not like this. Give me a break! I can only do so much before you get madder and madder and just...I don't know. But I refuse to do it any more today. You're making sex be work for me. I hope you're proud of yourself!"

"Fine, you quitter!" Maeve shouted back and threw the cuffs down on the floor. "I was getting impatient with your incompetence anyway!"

"You shouldn't be impatient with my incompetence!" Junior shouted back. "You should be impatient with your own." He got out of bed, grabbed the cuffs, and pushed Maeve against the wall, his hands roaming over her body as he looked her in the eye and grinned. "I know the contract says you're supposed to be on top, but...what do you say you give me the wheel for once? Just to see?"

"Not gonna happen," Maeve shook her head and slapped his hand away. "I'd rather wait. Where's the next public place you and I are gonna be alone together?" She paused. "That would be Eleanor and Lucifer's wedding." She paused. "You _were_ invited to that, weren't you? Or does Eleanor hate you so much that you were left out?"

"No, I was invited," Junior assured her. "I'm the father of the bride. Ellie's letting both Josh and I walk her down the aisle. It'll be awkward, but it's nice. The question is, why are _you_ gonna be there? I didn't know you and Ellie were even close."

Maeve shrugged. "We're not, really. But she wanted another bridesmaid besides Hannah, so she asked me and I told her that I would do this time if she promised never to make me repeat the experience."

"How gracious of you!" Junior smirked, picking the handcuffs up off the floor and imagining them around Maeve's wrists.

"I know, isn't it?" Maeve replied. "So we'll both be at the wedding, and that's when we'll do it!"

"Not during the wedding!" Junior shook his head. "I've already screwed up enough when it comes to tossing Ellie aside for my own pleasure. I'm spending the wedding entirely focusing on her."

"Fine," Maeve rolled her eyes. "It'll have to be the reception then. Do you have some problem with missing the reception?"

"No," Junior shook his head. "That's fine, as long as I get a piece of wedding cake."

Maeve rolled her eyes and gave him a push. "You'd think the sex would be enough, but of course you need cake too."

"Hey, sex and cake fulfill two very different needs for me. You can't do everything," Junior grinned. "Deal with it."

"You're pathetic!" Maeve scoffed.

"Yeah?" Junior shouted as she dressed and stormed out of the room. "You are too!"

* * *

"Eleanor?" Lucifer asked, blushing slightly. He really didn't want to tell her about how he'd possibly fathered a child with her aunt, but he had to. He was past the point where it was okay for him to act like a jerk in relationships just to make himself feel better. Eleanor deserved honesty. Even about unpleasant things.

"What?" Ellie came to put her arms around him and look deep into his eyes. "You don't look well," she remarked as she moved a lock of dark hair off his forehead. "Are you sick? Can you get sick?"

"No, I just have something that I need to tell you, but I'm terrified to do it," Lucifer replied. "You probably won't like it."

"Well, think of all we've gotten through already," Ellie pointed out. "Whatever you have to say can't be worse than any of that, can it?"

"You're right," Lucifer nodded, shutting his eyes tight and taking a breath. "I might have fathered a child with your aunt many years ago. I just found out about it now, though."

"You...what?" Ellie asked. "How could you have fathered a child with my aunt? She was a vampire when you knew each other and vampires can't have children!"

"Yes, but your aunt might have been able to!" Lucifer cried. "I was in hell again soon after we parted and roaming around, and then one day, some of the higher ups paid me to a visit to say that the woman I had just made a deal with would one day get pregnant in spite of her vampirism and have hoards of super powerful children. And she just introduced me to Roxie."

"And you think my cousin Roxie is your daughter who was born in the twenties without you knowing it?" Ellie asked in a flat voice, her arms crossed.

"Yes!" Lucifer nodded. "It's very possible. It would be just my luck!"

"I'm gonna have to see about this," Ellie told him and went to grab her phone and call Selina to ask just what Lucifer was talking about.

"Don't worry about that," Selina assured her. "It's a lie. A bit of sweet revenge for him ditching me after a brief affair we had while I was working for him. He apparently thought I was too needy and wanted to get away from me."

"That's what I thought," Ellie nodded. "I knew that Roxie wasn't Lucifer's."

"No," Selina shook her head. "I just wanted to see him squirm thinking that she might be. Is he terrified? Does he look like he's going to wet himself?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded.

"Are you mad that I'm doing this to him?" Selina asked. "Should I stop?"

"Well, if he treated you badly, he deserves a little shaking up," Ellie told her. "Just don't let it go on too long, all right? That could ruin things for everyone."

"All right," Selina promised. "When he comes to bring the papers to the Underground for Roxie to sign, I'll tell him the truth. Is that fair? That's gonna be tomorrow."

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "That's fine. And I'm sorry for how he treated you. I promise he's getting better, though."

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "You're really lucky."

They told each other goodbye then and Ellie strode back to a twitchy Lucifer. "So?" He asked. "How mad are you?"

"She told me about you two," Ellie told him firmly. "And I realize that you're a much better man now, but it wasn't nice to just ditch her like that. You could have at least told her that you wanted to part ways."

"You've never seen what she did to men who broke up with her, did you?" Lucifer questioned. "Not that it would have done me much harm, but..."

"I read over all the stuff she did as Lonely Heart," Ellie said firmly. "Every man she killed just left without a word. That was what made her want to kill. I'm sure if you'd parted ways in a civilized manner and treated her like she was a person who mattered, things would have ended better for you."

"Yes," Lucifer sighed. "I suppose they would have."

"I'm gonna leave you to think about that while I go check on the twins," Ellie told him and strode out of the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts and his worries.

* * *

"Hi, Daddy!" Roxie waved at Lucifer from the other side of the Underground's bar. "Thanks for coming to sign the papers. Want a drink?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded as he stumbled to a bar stool and sat down. "I really could use one right about now." It had been two days since he'd found out about Roxie and his nerves were completely shot.

Roxie poured it for him and then turned to call over her shoulder. "Mom, Dad's here! Want to come talk to him?"

"Yes," Selina replied, appearing out of nowhere. "We need to talk about how things are going to work out from now on."

"I've told Eleanor," Lucifer replied. "I was honest and open and she...she can deal with it."

"Good," Selina said. "Nice to see you're finally being honest for a change!" She paused. "Now, tell me one more thing: are you sorry that you ditched me?"

"Yes, but you have to understand why I did it!" Lucifer told her. "You were a clingy nightmare!"

"That's no excuse to just abandon me!" Selina told him. "You could have at least said 'Goodbye' and told me why we were breaking up!"

"That's true," Lucifer sighed. "I could have, and I'm sorry. I'm truly, truly sorry." He looked up at her. "Now give me the papers so I can get my daughter a night club."

Selina and Roxie looked at one another and grinned. "Should we tell him?" Roxie asked. "I mean, you got your apology and I think he's sincere."

"Yeah," Selina grinned as Roxie took the papers. "I think I've watched him squirm long enough."

"Long enough for what?" Lucifer asked, looking back and forth between them as Roxie signed the papers. "What's going on?"

"She's not your daughter," Selina grinned widely. "She's Klaus' daughter. When you and I were together, I couldn't father children, and even if I could have, based on how I acted toward the one Klaus and I took in, Mary Ann, I probably would have thrown them in the river or something before they lived long. I was not a materal sort at that point."

"But what about the prophecy I heard from Hazel?" Lucifer questioned. "That you would be able to have children despite your vampire status?"

"That happened _way_ after you and I parted ways," Selina told him. "When Enid and Vanessa were battling for supremacy and Enid gave me some of her fertility power to give the werewolves an extra advantage."

"Oh," Lucifer's eyes narrowed and his voice became tight. "Don't I feel the fool?"

"I still get the club, right?" Roxie asked.

"Yes," he nodded and snatched the signed papers away from her, his eyes flashing red. "But you're not getting anything else, that's for sure. Either of you. Nothing pleasant, anyway." Then, he strode from the club, leaving Roxie and Selina staring at each other and wondering just what he'd meant by that.

* * *

"What is going on in here?" Gwen cried as she stomped into the kitchen from her bedroom. She'd been planning to sleep through breakfast, but apparently, Mikael and Jeffrey were not mature enough to allow her to do that.

She looked around and sighed as Jeffrey and Mikael pulled apart and went back to their breakfasts. They'd made a total mess of the kitchen though: cupboards were pulled off their hinges, windows were broken, food was everywhere.

She stood and glared at them. "So tell me!" She demanded, tapping her foot. "What happened?"

"I think it should be obvious!" Jeffrey replied, putting his food down and getting to his feet. "Me and him can't live in the same house. Send him away. I know you like me better, anyway."

"No, she doesn't!" Mikael cried. "Gwendolyn, send _him_ away! The only reason why you took up with him in the first place was because I wasn't around!"

"See, he's not dependable!" Jeffrey cried triumphantly. "Another good reason to throw him out!"

"No one is being thrown out!" Gwen told him. "We're all gonna try and get along. Cause I know neither of you will accept any choice I make about who I'm gonna be with; you'll always come running back. So let's just try and get along. Make the best of things." She grinned at the two handsome men who were so desperate to get into her bed, subconsciously reaching to fluff up her hair. It really was a compliment.

Mikael and Jeffrey looked at one another in disgust. "What?" They asked at the same time.

"We're all gonna live together," Gwen replied. "I'm simply facing the fact that neither of you are gracious enough to concede defeat and step away from me. This is the best way to deal with that."

"So we're just supposed to stay here together so you can have a little man harem, Gwendolyn?" Mikael asked. "Is that right?"

"Well, it's really up to you," Gwen told him. "I'm not saying you have to stay. Not at all. But I don't think that pride of yours will allow you to leave me alone with Jeffrey when you still consider you and I a couple. Am I wrong?"

"She knows our weaknesses!" Mikael thundered at Jeffrey. "Are we going to stand for this?"

"I'll leave if you will," Jeffrey told him.

"Well, this adds a new dimension to all this," Gwen smiled. "You're both going to leave?"

"You don't seem offended by that," Jeffrey said.

"Cause I know it's not going to happen," Gwen told him. "I know you're both too proud to give me up and neither one trusts the other not to break the promise and come back to me. Face it. The only way we'll all get what we want is to live here together."

"I think you're the only one who's getting what you want and you're enjoying it immensely," Jeffrey told her. "You're lucky you're such a beautiful woman."

"Oh, give me a break!" Gwen smiled. "It's been years since I've had this much attention paid to me. Let me enjoy it. You know you would if you were in my place."

Not wanting to admit she was right, both men turned away from her, sat down at the kitchen table, and began debating about who would get to be with her first."

"I have a large bed," Gwen reminded them. "We could all fit. That way we wouldn't have to bother with a schedule." She grinned widely as they both looked at her in horror.

"I'll take the room to the right of hers," Mikael said.

"All right," Jeffrey nodded. "And I'll take the left."

If they had to live together, they would. But they would not share the same bed with her at the same time. That was going too far. Things had to stop somewhere, and that...that was the line.


	40. The Devil's Party

"Can we talk?" Ellie asked Dexter as she poked her head into his room after putting the twins down for a nap.

"Sure," Dexter nodded and gestured at a chair that sat in the corner. As the head of Lucifer's staff, he had a pretty big room, even if it wasn't _as_ big as Lucifer and Ellie's. And once she was sitting down, he asked, "What's going on?"

"It's about Lucifer," Ellie replied and learned forward.

"Oh, no," Dexter groaned and ran his fingers through his dark hair. "What's he done now?"

"Nothing bad," Ellie shook her head. "At least I shouldn't think it's bad. If it was any other girl but me, they wouldn't have a problem with it, but I...I don't know."

"What's happening?" Dexter questioned. "And how can I help?"

Ellie sighed. "You'll probably think I'm crazy, but...although I love Lucifer and couldn't live without him, there's still little thing in our relationship that baffles me: the fact that he's always looking at me like I'm the most wonderful thing in the world. Like I'm a priceless piece of art. Like I can do nothing wrong. And I just...I don't feel like I deserve that. What have I done in my life to deserve to be thought of so highly? I come from modest, humble people. How do I even...I know I'll never think of Lucifer that way! Is it healthy?"

Dexter sighed. "He did tell me once when you were gone that if Eve had looked like you, he would have kneeled down to her and Adam in a second, and actually I wasn't supposed to tell you that, but..."

"See?" Ellie nodded. "That's exactly what I mean! I need to know what he sees when he looks at me. Does he see a person? Or does he see a shiny light and a halo and wings? It's not that I don't feel flattered, cause I do, but I can't...I can't be married to him until he sees me for me. Can you talk to him about that? Cause I couldn't. It would embarrass me too much."

"I'll have a word with him," Dexter nodded. "Don't worry about it."

"Thank you," Ellie said and gave him a hug. "And thank you for not thinking I'm crazy. I know what I'm saying is a silly thing to worry about."

"No," Dexter shook his head. "If it bothers you, it's not silly at all. What are you going to do now? Have you eaten yet?"

"I was on my way to do that," Ellie nodded. "It's weird to have to be reminded, but when you're so busy trying to keep two other people alive, you forget about yourself."

"Well, that's what I'm here for," Dexter grinned. "In fact, would you like to eat together?"

"Sure," Ellie smiled and stood up. "I would love to."

* * *

"What?" Lucifer asked as Dexter brought him to his room after he got home from work. "Can't this wait? I haven't seen Eleanor all day!"

"That's what we need to talk about," Dexter told him. "We need to talk about Miss Ellie. She and I had a talk this morning and she told me something that I thought you might want to know about before you two get married."

"Yes, and what's that?" Lucifer asked. "Please tell me. Because I honestly have no idea what I could have done wrong at this point. I've been the picture of kindness and goodness, which can be very difficult for me...but not when it comes to Eleanor, of course."

"And there's the issue," Dexter told him. "You're being too nice to her. She feels that you're idealizing her instead of seeing her as a real person and she doesn't know how to handle it. It's overwhelming her."

"And do you think she's right?" Lucifer asked. "I don't see what's so wrong with thinking that she's wonderful and that she saved me, cause it's true!"

"Let's put it this way," Dexter said. "Tell me one thing about her that annoys you. Just one thing."

Lucifer thought a moment. And thought. And thought. But he couldn't come up with anything. "She's perfect," he said. "There's nothing wrong with her."

"That means she's right and you're wrong," Dexter told him. "You _are_ idealizing her."

"And what's so bad about that?" Lucifer questioned. "If I act annoyed with her and let her know it, won't she get mad and leave?"

"No, she'll probably thank you," Dexter told him. "It's completely fine. Now...can you think of one thing that she does that annoys you?"

"Yes," Lucifer replied immediately now that he knew thinking about her that way was okay. "I can think of one thing right off the bat."

"Good," Dexter told him. "What is it? And are you going to tell her?"

"Yes!" Lucifer nodded. "As long as she's expecting it, you better believe I will. I've wanted to for days, but I thought it would drive her away. Now that I know it won't, she's going to hear about it."

* * *

"Why do you have to have it so cold in here at night?" Lucifer asked as Ellie checked the thermostat in their room. "I can't sleep when the room is so cold! Why don't you let _me_ control the room temperature for once!"

"I can't do that," Ellie told him. "You'd make the room _way_ too warm. And sleeping in a room that's too warm gives me a headache and makes me throw up. So I think the best thing to do is let me handle it."

"You don't know that's what I'll do with the temperature when you've never let me go near the damn thing!" Lucifer told her. "You're just making assumptions!"

"Yes, but I know where you live, so they're reasonable assumptions," Ellie told him. "Admit it." She gave him what seemed to be a condescending little smirk and that was it for him. That was the last straw. He knew deep down that it would probably have been best to just wait for her to fall asleep and then change the temperature, but since Eleanor no longer wanted to be idealized and wanted to see how he truly felt about her...this was the perfect time to do it.

He got out of bed, came up behind her, picked her up, and moved her out of the way so he could reach the thermostat himself, but just as he reached it, Ellie gave him a rough shove. "Don't you dare touch that!" She said. "You keep it the way it is!"

He turned to face her, the push not moving him at all, doing nothing, in fact, but making him irritated. "And what if I don't?" He asked, gripping her arms so that she was immobile as she stared at him, wide-eyed. "What can you possibly do against me, Eleanor?"

"Well..." Ellie blustered. "Well...I don't know! But damn it, I _will_ think of something!"

"Yes, I'm sure you will," he nodded. "But it'll have nothing to do with the thermostat."

Ellie stared at him, breathing hard as he finally let her go. "Dexter talked to you, didn't he?" She asked. "About what I said."

"Yes, he did," Lucifer nodded. "And if you didn't want me to actually do something about it, you shouldn't have said anything."

"Oh, no," Ellie shook her head. "I'm _glad_ you are. I don't need you to coddle me like you do the twins. I can take whatever you throw at me."

"Are you serious about that, Eleanor?" He asked. "Because I will _not_ go easy on you."

"Whatever," Ellie's eyes narrowed. "Stop talking and just do it already!"

He then pushed her down on the floor and began spanking her. Over and over as she laughed through the pain. "Is that all you got?" She cried, glad they were no longer in the twins' room. "I can hardly feel it!"

Then he flipped her over and they looked into one another's eyes. "Do it." Ellie whispered, her tongue sliding along her bottom lip. "You know you want to." She even used her magic to zap a pair of handcuffs he'd kept on the dresser for a special occasion into her hand. "And you can even use these if you want."

"Oh, don't you dare," he said and threw them away. Then he thought a moment and took the handcuffs back, making sure her hands were firmly secured behind her before pulling off her pajama pants and panties and burying himself deep inside her.

"Do it again!" Ellie cried. "You're sure showing me what I'm doing wrong!"

He didn't want to hear her talk. Her voice was annoying him. And that smirk on her face. Once he'd gotten her okay, that was all he'd needed to hear out of her. He gagged her and continued to push into her until neither of them could move and they just lay still on the bedroom floor under the thermostat.

"Okay, that's enough," he breathed at last and undid the gag. "I think we've learned our lesson, haven't we, Eleanor?"

"Fine," Ellie snapped. "You can put the thermostat to the temperature you want, but if I get a headache tomorrow or feel sick because the room is too warm, you are _going_ to hear about it!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Lucifer replied and went to make the room a couple of degrees warmer.

Then he lifted Ellie into bed and undressed her the rest of the way, coming into her from behind as he massaged her back and shoulders and kissed her neck.

"This is nice," she breathed. "I like this."

"I thought you would," he remarked as he felt her muscles relax under his fingers. "Are you getting sleepy?"

"Yeah," Ellie yawned. "Just a little." But it was more than just a little and soon, some soft snoring that he'd surprisingly never noticed before told him that she was sound asleep.

He kissed her hair and backed out of her, then went to put his pants back on and moved her so he could pull the covers over both of them and turn off the lights for bed.

* * *

"Do you want me to make the coffee?" Ellie asked Lucifer the next morning. "I usually do. It's no trouble."

"I know, and it's very sweet that you do that," Lucifer remarked. "But whatever you do when you make it makes it come out a tad watery for my taste. Would you mind if I made it for a few days?"

"Oh, no," Ellie shook her head. "Go ahead. I don't mind. I'm sorry I make yucky coffee. You should have said something sooner."

"Well, if you like it, that's good," Lucifer told her. "I just like mine a bit different, that's all."

Then he poured her a cup and after putting some milk in it, she drank it. "Oh, my god," she remarked. "You're right! Mine _was_ a little watery! This is so much _better!_ What kind of sorcery did you do?"

"That's my secret," Lucifer whispered after he pulled her close. "But I'm glad you like it."

They sat side by side at the kitchen table for a little bit before Dexter brought the twins in. "Good morning," he said and gave each parent a twin for their lap. "How are we feeling today? Did we have a nice talk last night? Get things out in the open?"

"Yes," Lucifer grinned. "As a matter of fact, we did. Thank you, Dexter. She let me move the thermostat up a little!"

"Only every other day," Ellie replied. "We're taking turns."

"You're compromising!" Dexter cheered. "This is good!"

"Anything else about me that irritates you besides the bad coffee and the fact that I keep our room too cold?" Ellie questioned Lucifer.

"Hang up your towels on the rack in the bathroom so they can dry," Lucifer told her. "Don't just leave them wadded up on the floor. And along that same line, throw your clothes in the hamper when you're done showering. Don't just leave them piled up in the bathroom until neither of us can open or shut the bathroom door."

"I always mean to do that..." Ellie told him. "Then I...don't."

"Where can I put the hamper so it'll be easier for you to remember?" Lucifer asked. "Cause I really want this to become a habit."

"I know it's right outside the shower," Ellie told him. "I just...I'll take the clothes to the hamper after every shower and then the clothes won't pile up."

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "No, they won't." He then had to pause and turn his attention to Vincent, who was trying to tip his coffee cup over. "No, son, don't do that!" He remarked and pushed it away, which caused Vincent to let out a shriek and stir up his sister, who was having no problems whatsoever. She just wanted to make noise too.

"Oh, for the love of..." Lucifer began.

"Would you like me to take them?" Dexter offered. "Or one of them, anyway?"

"Sure," Ellie said when she noticed that Valerie was reaching for Dexter anyway. "Knock yourself out."

They sat in the living room until the twins calmed down and then Lucifer looked at the clock and realized that he had to leave for work.

"It's so much easier to do wedding planning in my office," he said.

"I feel kind of bad that I haven't been more helpful with that," Ellie told him. "To make it up to you, why don't I throw you a bachelor party? Would you like that?"

"How can he have a bachelor party?" Dexter questioned. "It won't be much of a party with only one or two people there."

"I have a plan," Ellie told Dexter. "Believe me."

* * *

And that was how Malachai, Mikael, John, Junior, Rodan, and Josh all ended up at Lucifer's bachelor party.

"I don't know why we're here," Malachai huffed. "I don't want to be here. I have better things to do!"

"I know, right?" An equally put-off Mikael said from the couch beside him. "I'd rather be at home right now." Even though it was Jeffrey's night with Gwendolyn anyway, as per the agreement they'd come up with, he still hated being out of the house and letting them have the togetherness they wanted. What did _he_ get out of that?"

"Come on, everyone!" Lucifer cried jovially after appearing from seemingly out of nowhere, blowing a blower right in John's ear and then smashing a cake in his face. "Lighten up! This is supposed to be a party!"

"Although I do give you credit for not being so juvenile as to hire a stripper," Josh said. "Shows you actually care about Ellie."

"Of course I care about Eleanor!" Lucifer told him. "I can't believe that hasn't gotten through you head by now!" He paused. "Oh, well. If the whole sour lot of you won't have any fun, that won't stop _me_! I have a much better way to amuse myself than have strippers." He then proceeded to put spells on Malachai and Mikael that made them walk around clucking like chickens, made John continually fill himself full of cake until he got ill and collapsed on the floor, and then made Josh and Junior cheer for him as he sang one karaoke song after another (purposefully badly, of course, because it was fun to watch them wince.)

"I wish I wish I was drunk right now," Josh whispered to Junior. "I really do."

"We could ask," Junior whispered back. "But do you really want to risk what he might make us do when we no longer have control of ourselves?"

"As long as I'm not aware of anything, I don't care what he makes me do," Josh replied. "He's drunk now, I want to be too. I cannot stress that enough."

"Yeah," Junior nodded as Lucifer began singing Jukebox Hero for the third time in row. "Since it doesn't seem like he's gonna sing another song."

"Where are you two going?" Lucifer paused as he caught them trying to sneak away.

"We're going to get hammered so we don't remember this ever happened," Junior told him. "That doesn't bother you, does it?"

"Oh, no," Lucifer shook his head, coming down from the stage and bumping into a still-clucking Mikael as he made his way to Josh and Junior. "Let's all do it together! We can toast Eleanor! Won't that be fun? This was all her idea, you know."

* * *

"You _did_ say midnight, right?" Ellie asked when a chipper Lucifer opened the door to her knock and let her and Hannah inside. "I'm not stopping the party too early, am I?"

"I actually could have gone on much longer," Lucifer commented. "But in deference to the fact that not everyone can last as long as I can, midnight seemed like a good stopping point."

"All right," Hannah remarked. "Let's survey the damage."

The sisters were pleased when they saw that Josh and Junior had come out the best (even though they were both drunk off their asses and nearly unconscious) compared to the older men, who were still clucking and choking down cake.

After they got Josh and Junior in Hannah's car and belted in, Ellie just looked at her grandfather sorrowfully as he clucked and said, "You brought this on yourself. You should have been nicer about this. Or at least not mean. That's all on your head."

"Do I have to take the spell off now?" Lucifer asked after Ellie tried to tell off Grandpa John too, but he was so ill from being stuffed full of cake that she didn't want to get near him.

Ellie sighed. "Yeah, I think that's best," she nodded. "I think everyone's had enough." She paused. "And thanks for going easy on my dads. I appreciate it."

"Oh, that's fine, Eleanor," he shrugged. "It really surprised me how much those two can drink when properly motivated."

"What did you do to get them so hammered?" Ellie asked.

"They apparently didn't enjoy my singing," Lucifer shrugged. "Oh, well. Their loss."

"Where's Grandpa Rodan?" Ellie asked, not seeing him. "I know I told him to come too." She gasped. "You didn't _kill_ him, did you?"

"No," Lucifer grinned and put a finger to his lips. "Listen!"

It was then that Ellie heard the shouting and crashing. "What did you do?" She asked, wide-eyed.

"Well, Rodan refused to play along and party like everyone else, so I put him in time out," Lucifer replied. "Locked him in a room until he was ready to play nice and he never came."

"But the crashing and the yelling...?" Ellie got out.

Lucifer then took Ellie's hand and led her to the room where Rodan was being kept and she was surprised to see that Katherine was in there too.

"Are we allowed to leave now?" She huffed. "I need to get out of this room!"

"Me too," Rodan agreed. "I've had just about enough of her!"

"I'm sure you have by now," Lucifer nodded, noticing the bed was broken in half. "I don't know why this is a punishment, but I'm glad I knew it was. I thought you two were married!"

"Well, we are!" Katherine nodded. "But that doesn't mean I want to be locked in a room with him for hours! I can't stare at his annoying, stupid face for that long!"

"Lucky for me, it's not my face you like," Rodan taunted. Then Katherine promptly kicked him in the crotch and when he was down, she put on her dress and shoes and strode out of the room. "Can I go now?" She asked.

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "You can go." He looked at Ellie. "And we might want to put Rodan in the car with Josh and Junior. He's not in a fit state to drive himself."

"Gee, you think?" Ellie asked sarcastically as they worked on getting Rodan to the car and afterward, making sure he took the spells off everyone else, telling herself that it would be a _long_ time before she let Lucifer have another party unsupervised.


	41. The Big Wedding

"So...what do you want to do for your bachelorette party?" Hannah asked Ellie. "Lucifer had one. You should have one too."

"Oh, I have no idea what to do for those things!" Ellie told her. "Why don't you and Maeve come up with something and we'll do it."

"If your heart's not in it, we don't have to," Hannah said. "I just thought you might want to have a little fun before you get married, that's all."

"I suppose we could try," Ellie nodded. "But really, my marriage is gonna be _plenty_ fun. I know this already."

Hannah raised an eyebrow. "Good. Just...please don't tell me any more."

"All right," Elle grinned. "I'll keep it to myself."

* * *

"I hope you don't mind, but Hannah and Maeve want to throw me a bachelorette party," Ellie told Lucifer when she visited him at the office over lunch. "It probably won't do much for me, but they seem so happy about it that I can't let them down. That's okay, right?"

"Of course it's okay!" Lucifer told her. "You don't have to ask. I'm secure about our relatioship."

"Okay, good," Ellie nodded. Then she kissed him. "That...that's a huge weight off my mind."

"If you don't want to do this, just tell Hannah," Lucifer told her. "The party's for you. You should have something you enjoy."

"Oh, but if that's how I went, it wouldn't include Hannah and Maeve, would it?" Ellie asked, leaning across his desk with a grin. "I am well-aware that I'm marrying the king of debauchery, so anything that Hannah puts together is gonna pale in comparison to what you and I could do on a normal night if we put our minds to it."

"That's very true," Lucifer nodded. "You could not be more right if you tried. But it's nice of you to play along for Hannah and Maeve's sake."

"So I'll go out tonight," Ellie told him. "But don't plan anything that will take too long because I'm going to find an excuse to come back early."

"And once you do," Lucifer winked, "the _real_ fun will begin!"

* * *

"Why do you need to have another daiquiri?" Maeve asked Ellie as they waited for the show at the all-male strip club to begin. "If you keep drinking like that, you might not be alert when the show begins and from what I hear about the guys that work here, that'll be a real tragedy."

"Oh, I'm sure," Ellie nodded and straightened her crooked tiara. "And if that happens, keep your eyes on the stage and take careful notes so you can tell me what I missed later."

"That's not gonna happen," Hannah told her with a grin and took the drink from her. "You're not gonna miss a thing."

Squished uncomfortably between Maeve and her sister and feeling very twitchy from all the sugar she'd consumed both in her drinks here and the giant sundae she'd gotten at the ice cream shop before this, Ellie couldn't focus. And when the dancers came out and a cheer rose up from the audience, she was sure that she didn't want to be there anymore. She'd known this wouldn't do anything for her, and it didn't. When Maeve and Hannah's eyes were locked on the stage, she quietly took the presents they'd gotten her and slipped away to the bathroom, where, after making sure she was alone, she zapped herself home.

"You came back quick," Dexter remarked. "Not as fun of a night as you thought it would be?"

"Oh, the movie and the ice cream parlor were fine," Ellie said. "But then they wanted to go to a strip club and it just...it didn't do me any good." She got down on her knees and kissed her babies and then asked, "Where's Lucifer?"

"Out back," Dexter gestured. "He's expecting you."

"Well, I hope so!" Ellie said. "We talked about how this would happen. Thanks, Dexter!"

She headed out to the yard where there was a table set up and Lucifer was waiting for her. "Didn't have much fun, huh?" He asked, getting up and coming to embrace her.

Ellie shook her head. "But I knew that would happen. You set the bar a bit high for ordinary humans to meet."

"Yes," Lucifer grinned and kissed her. "I do, don't I?"

"Anyway, I think Maeve and Hannah will have more fun without me anyway," Ellie remarked as he pulled her chair out for her and she sat down. "I was trying my hardest not to be a wet blanket but I knew they could tell I wasn't having as much fun as they wanted me to."

"Well, hopefully you'll like what I have in mind much better," Lucifer told her. "I think you will."

"I think I will too," Ellie grinned. "You know me pretty well."

Then, he excused himself and came back with a red rose and a bag of take-out Chinese, which they shared, along with a pot of coffee.

"I figured you would have drunk enough by now that a bottle of wine would be a bad idea," he remarked and filled her cup with coffee and then putting a little cream and a spray of whipped cream on top. "Am I right?"

"Well, I haven't lost my senses completely, but my goal was to get there so I wouldn't have to watch the show," Ellie remarked after pushing her long hair out of her eyes. "You'd put on a way better show than any of the guys they had at the place Maeve and Hannah took me to."

"I would," Lucifer agreed. "But you'll have to wait to see it until our wedding night. And don't tell me that's not fair because I know you bought some things that you're making me wait to see."

"That's true," Ellie grinned and put some whipped cream on her finger and then got it on the end of his nose. "I do. But everyone should have their secrets, right? That's what makes things interesting. Don't you agree?"

"Oh, you are so right!" Lucifer replied, and then Ellie let out a shriek as he pulled out the spray whipped cream can and sprayed it right at her so it got in her face and hair. There was a silence from Ellie and Lucifer was nervous for a second cause he thought he'd taken things too far, but then she, wiped the excess whipped cream off her face, got up and came around the table, pulling him up out of his chair by his tie and kissing him soundly before taking off and calling for him to chase her.

"That reminds me," he said when he'd finally caught her. "Do you want to start your wedding present from me tonight? I have your first prey all picked out."

"Sure!" Ellie grinned and got close to him. "But I think we should get cleaned up first. Don't you?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded and picked her up to carry her back into the mansion. "I agree with that. whole-heartedly."

They went and showered, then Lucifer got one of the other demons to bring out a terrified older man in a dark suit.

"What's...what's happening?" He asked as he looked at Ellie with wide eyes before turning back to Lucifer. "I thought you said I was forgiven. That I was free."

"Oh, no," Lucifer shook his head. "You are neither of those things. Your punishment's just changed a little, that's all. Now, Roger, I suggest you run. Not that that will help you much."

The man let out a shriek as he saw Ellie's vampire face, and they both ran off into the woods. Lucifer chuckled for a few seconds and then ran after them because there was no way he was going to miss out on Eleanor really enjoying herself. He could tell that no matter how much she tried to hide it, this was something she'd been waiting for.

It didn't take long for him to follow the agonized screames of the damned man and find Ellie feeding on him.

"Is he good?" Lucifer asked.

Ellie fed for a bit longer, then looked up at him with a smile, her face and teeth bloody, her eyes jet black. "Oh, yes," she said. "But he wasn't much of a challenge, though. Tell me that the other people you picked will be more of a challenge than him."

"Oh, of course!" Lucifer assured her as he got down on his knees beside her and rubbed her back. "But I wanted to start you out with someone easy."

"And look at that," Ellie smiled. "He's just healing right up!"

"Yes," Lucifer chuckled, grabbing her and laying her down on the ground and straddling her. . "Have as much as you want. You're never gonna run out. Isn't it fun?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded, grinning widely as she looked into the devil's face and brought it down to hers. "Just marvelous! _This_ is what I call a bachelorette party!"

* * *

"Don't worry about leaving the twins with Ron and Jack," Dexter assured Ellie on the day of the wedding. "They're very responsible, I promise."

"Oh, I believe you," Ellie replied as she sat down in a chair in the room where Hannah was doing her make-up. "I know you wouldn't just leave the kids with someone who wouldn't take care of them. And keeping them from the wedding was a good idea too. I think it would have made things more difficult to have them there."

"How are you feeling?" Dexter asked. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "I think we have things under control here. You can go and look after Lucifer."

"All right," Dexter nodded. "Will do."

"I don't think we'll need to do much with you," Hannah told her. "You look wonderful already."

"So do you," Ellie told her. "That dress looks really good on you. And it...it was really nice of you to have Christopher be your date. Just no having sex in the closet during the reception, okay?"

"Okay," Hannah swore. "We won't, I promise." Then she muttered the last part under her breath. "Even if he does loook as good in a tux as he does out of it."

* * *

Meanwhile, Maeve, wearing a bridesmaid dress of her own choice (a black dress with a tulle skirt and white, brown, and pink flowers on the bodice), was assigned the task of finding something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. She was in the middle of this task and not having much luck when she bumped into Junior and grabbed the keys out of his back pocket.

"Hey, what do you want those for?" He asked.

"I just need to borrow something for some stupid wedding tradition," Maeve said. "Don't worry. I'll bring them back."

"You want me to help you look?" Junior asked, tilting his head toward a closet that was open and empty. "Maybe we'll find stuff...in there..."

"Yeah!" Maeve nodded. "You know, we just might!" They locked themselves in the closet and quickly, she had his pants and boxers down, his hands roaming over her body and under her skirt as she nibbled on his earlobe and whispered in his ear.

"I see this is doing it for you," Junior said and kissed her.

"Oh, yes, for sure," Maeve panted. "I know we said we were gonna wait until the reception, but you know if we keep going on like this, someone will come looking for us. Then they might catch us!"

Then she pushed him down on to the closet floor and straddled him.

"Ow," he muttered as he hit his head on a mop handle. "That hurt."

"I could hurt you worse," Maeve reminded him, her hips thrusting forward. "Hitting your poor wittle head is nothing. Are you always this much of a wimp?"

"I am not!" Junior replied. He had never wanted to bite someone so much in his whole life. He ran his thumb in a gentle circle around her wrist as he looked into her eyes. "This probably isn't something you want to hear after you just called me a wimp, but...I think you're beautiful. You look so nice today...in that dress."

"I picked it out myself," Maeve said, trying not to blush because the last thing she wanted was to blush in front of a guy like Junior. "I hoped you would notice and if you hadn't said anything, I would have kept bringing it up until you did."

"Well, you wouldn't have had to wait long," he said as she reached out and played with his hair. "You're really hard to miss. And I mean that in a good way."

"Oh, I know you did," Maeve nodded. "If you meant it in a bad way, I would have ripped out your tongue and nailed it to my bedroom wall."

"How is it that someone hasn't snatched you up yet when you say such charming things?" Junior asked. "I want to bite you now. I really do."

"All right," Maeve nodded. "Go for it. Show me you're not afraid."

So he did. He grabbed her wrist and sank his fangs in, which made her more aroused despite her scream of pain.

"Good job," he snapped after they both caught their breaths and heard Dexter knocking on the door. "Someone found us."

"What's going on in there?" Dexter called. "Is everything all right?"

Maeve put a hand over Junior's mouth. "Don't say a word," she whispered. "Act normal. And remember, this isn't over."

They fixed their clothes and left the closet with an air of exaggerated dignity, giving Dexter a quick 'Hello' before power-walking away from him as he stared at them in shock.

* * *

Soon after that, Ellie had all her good luck charms on her person and a father on each arm, waiting for the music to begin so Lucifer and Dexter could get out to the ballroom and wait for her to make her entrance. She couldn't wait to see Lucifer's face when he saw her pretty black dress.

"How much do you bet me that he's gonna ditch her?" Josh asked Junior. "Ten bucks?"

"Daddy!" Ellie cried. "Don't you go making bets like that on my wedding day! He's gonna do this. He's committed to me! He's the one who proposed for crying out loud!"

"We're not trying to hurt your feelings," Junior assured her. "We're just trying to prepare you for the possibility that it might happen. He's the devil, after all, and commitment has never been one of his strong points. We don't want him to hurt you."

"He won't!" Ellie proclaimed confidently. "Have a little faith in him, would you?"

But in Lucifer's dressing room, a sudden thought had crossed Lucifer's mind that risked Josh and Junior being proven right.

Dexter came in not long after this to tell him about Maeve and Junior and it was good that he did because when he found the room Lucifer was hiding out in and managed to get in it despite the locked door, he found his boss drunk and barely dressed.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?" Dexter asked. "Why are you drunk? Don't you realize you're supposed to be getting married today?"

"Oh yes," Lucifer nodded. "I know." He chuckled and fell off his chair. Dexter groaned and helped him sit down again. "All right, what's the matter? Please don't tell me you're chickening out like every other time you've had to make a commitment to a woman. Ellie is not like her aunt. She doesn't cling. She won't trap you. You're both happy, remember?"

"Oh, I know," Lucifer nodded. "I haven't forgotten that."

"Then what's the problem?" Dexter asked. "Please tell me, because I honestly have no idea."

"Well, you know how you said that I idealized her and that was bad?" Lucifer asked.

"Yes," Dexter nodded. "What about it?"

"Well, I think she does that with me too," Lucifer told him. "Not in the same way, obviously, but..I think...I worry she only likes bad me. What if she only likes bad me and doesn't like 'good' me? How am I supposed to be the well-rounded person I want to be then?"

"I will go ask," Dexter told him. "This is something you two need to talk about. It probably should have happened sooner, but better late then never, I guess."

Taking a deep breath to compose himself and have courage cause he knew Ellie might kill him (she probably wouldn't, cause she was nice and understanding, but weddings always made people emotional in ways they normally wouldn't be) when she found out about what was going on with her fiance, he then strode out of the room and went to break it to her.

"He what?" Ellie cried as her fathers held her hands tighter. "What do you mean he's thinking of not getting married right now?"

"He has something he still needs to hash out before the two of you get down the aisle," Dexter told her. "Go talk to him."

"All right," Ellie sighed and picked up her skirts. "Where is he?"

Dexter led her to the room and let her inside. "If you need anything from me, just yell," he told her. "I'll be right outside."

"Thanks," Ellie told him. She then set eyes on Lucifer, who did his best to try and stand up at the sight of her. He'd even done his best to dress, even though his buttons were crooked and his zipper was undone. "You look very pretty," he slurred. "I love weddings!"

"Oh, come on and pull yourself together!" Ellie told him. "What's the matter? Do you not want to get married to me? This is a fine time to realize that!" She shook her head, zapping up a glass of raw egg. "Drink this and then we can talk."

She watched him choke it down and get a breath. "Better?" She asked. "Now what in the hell is going on?"

"What do you want from me?" He asked. "I have to know. If you just want the evil, if you just see me as way to get all your evil impulses out, I don't think I can do this. I want to work on being a better person too, and I can't do that by myself."

Ellie sighed. "Of course I don't want just the bad side of you!" She told him. "I mean, the bad side is fun, don't get me wrong. Seeing the bad side from time to time is great. But the whole reason I left the first time was because there was too much bad side going on. The mix I see now...the fact that you can be a good father and a good husband along with being the devil...that's good. That's what I want. And I would never...I would never make you be something that makes you uncomfortable, or something that made you feel like not yourself. Just like with you and me and the angel thing." She kissed him. "We know we both have the part of each other that's the turn on. But we know we like all of each other and that's better. You can be whatever you want and I'll support it if you'll do the same for me. All right? Do you know that?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded, kissing her palm and taking her in his arms. "I do. Sorry. I know you think I'm probably crazy and hate my bad timing and..."

"I'm just glad we got this all sorted out," Ellie told him and squeezed his hand. "And that you still want to marry me. Speaking of, fix yourself up and get out there. Everyone's waiting."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. He did just that and headed out of the room with a spring in his step.

Then, as the music swelled, Ellie strode into the main ballroom with a father on each arm and even though he'd just seen her in her crown and dress looking every inch the beautiful queen of darkness, seeing it again as she made her way toward him, Lucifer felt himself start to get choked up.

"Hi," she said with a smile as they finally met at the end of the aisle. "Ready to get married?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Let's do it."

They got through the ceremony smoothly until it was time for people to object, and Ellie waited with bated breath, of course.

"You know it doesn't matter," Lucifer whispered. "They can say what they want, but it's not going to change things."

"I know," Ellie nodded. "Thank you."

Josh and Junior stood up. They opened their mouths. And what came out surprised her.

"We're against this," Junior began. "Somehow, we're _always_ gonna be. And yet, here we are, walking our daughter down the aisle to give her to a man we don't like, and who, in an ideal world, she wouldn't go near. Why?" He looked at Josh. "Tell them why."

"For the same reason we accepted each other in her life in the first place," Josh continued. "Cause we love her more than any petty grudge is worth, and as long as she's happy, we're happy too. However, we just want to say that if you hurt her, Lucifer, and we find out about it, we will not hesitate to kick your ass and it will hurt. Really bad. Thank you."

They sat back down and Lucifer whispered, "That went better than I thought it would."

"Although, when they say they're gonna kick your ass, I really think they mean it," Ellie told him. "Don't take it lightly."

"Oh, I know," Lucifer nodded. "They wouldn't be good fathers if they didn't mean it."

"Are we all good?" Asked the officiating demon. "May we finish this up? I know the two of you have somewhere else you're eager to be."

"True," Ellie nodded as Maeve caught Junior's eye and bit her lip on a smile. "Sorry."

"Now that everyone has said their piece, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

They kissed, trying to remember that they were in front of people and not behind a locked bedroom door, and everyone applauded them as they made their way back down the aisle and to the reception room for cake and drinks.


	42. The Prince And Princess Of Darkness

"I'm back!" Dexter called when he arrived at the part of the mansion where the twins were staying. "Everything went well! We have pictures!" He was in a good mood until both Ron and Jack came running toward him, then his body tensed. Both demons were stocky and tough but had gentle souls. He'd never seen either of them terrified, but that's how they looked now.

"What's wrong, you two?" He asked. "Was there a problem with the twins? Are they lost or dead? What's happened?"

"No, they're not dead or lost...but it's something else really weird!" Ron cried. "It's hard to explain. You won't believe us unless you see it."

Dexter was less alarmed and more curious now. He made his way to the twins' room and gasped. There were two people in the room. But they weren't little babies. They were full grown adults. Or at least teenagers.

The girl looked up from filing her nails and smiled at him. "Hi, Dexter!" She cried, running over to him and giving him a tight hug, her wide smile showing strong, pearly white teeth. "Look how big I am now! Isn't it great?"

"Oh, get off him, Val!" Vincent remarked without even looking up from his book, his tone dry. "Go rub up against something else."

Valerie turned and narrowed her eyes at him. "You know, _Vince_ , I don't think I heard anyone ask your opinion about anything. So why don't you just keep your mouth shut!"

That made her brother look up, give a grin, and shoot flames from his fingertips that landed on Valerie's dress.

"Okay, everyone!" Dexter cried. "No one panic. We can fix this!"

"No, it's okay," Vincent said, looking remarkably unaffected by the fact that his sister was on fire. He rose to his feet in one graceful motion, grabbed a blanket off the bed, pushed her to the floor, and smothered the flames with a blanket. "There. All better."

"If this wasn't your fault to begin with, I would thank you," Valerie spat. "Now would you get off me?"

"All right," Vincent chuckled. "Shame about your dress, though."

Valerie looked down at her dress that now had a big black stain on it and and smelled heavily of smoke. "You're gonna pay for that," she said firmly. "Watch your back."

"Oh, please, make a move," Vincent grinned. "I can't wait."

They left the room and the three demons looked at one another. "Should we call their parents?" Ron asked. "I mean, handling the boss is okay, but I don't know if I can handle _two_ of the boss without help. Do you think _any_ of Miss Ellie made it into either of them?"

"We can only hope," Dexter sighed. "And no, let's not bother them. They're only going to be gone a couple of days. We can handle things in the mean time."

"I don't know about that," Jack told him. "Are you sure?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Lucifer and Ellie were blissfully unaware of the latest developments with their children as they locked themselves into their hotel room and got out of their wedding clothes and ran to bed.

"Wait," Ellie said, finally managing to get a breath. "What about all the fancy lingerie I bought? Don't you want me to get it on so you can see it?"

"Well, we're already naked so...would it bother you if you showed me all your pretty underwear later?" Lucifer grinned.

"Oh, sure," Ellie nodded and ran her fingers through his hair. "Just didn't want you to forget about it!"

"Oh, I won't," Lucifer shook his head. "Believe me. We need to do as much as we can, since we only have the weekend." He paused, putting a hand on either side of her face as he stared into her eyes. "Unless you'd like to stay longer. "That can always be arranged."

"I don't think I can," Ellie told him. "Is it selfish to think it's kind of early to be away from our babies?"

"It _is_ the first time they've been left at home without at least one of us present," Lucifer conceded. "Anything could happen."

"You know, now I'm starting to get anxious," Ellie remarked. "And not in a good way. I have to call home and see what's happening. Just to ease my mind."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "I suppose I can wait."

"Thank you," Ellie smiled. "That's very thoughtful of you." She grabbed her phone out of her purse and quickly punched the number in.

"Dexter?" She said when he answered, "It's Ellie. Everything okay at home?"

"Oh, yeah," Dexter assured her, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. "Everything is fine. No problems at all. Just go back to your honeymoon."

But Ellie wasn't fooled. She heared a scream and a crash and asked, "Dexter, what were those noises? What's happening? And don't you lie to me."

"Okay, fine," Dexter conceded, knowing that there was no other way out of this. Plus, he hated lying to Ellie anyway. "You know how you grew up fast? Well, the twins have too. Maybe they got it from you or something. And they're kind of...ornery."

"Well, do you want us to come home?" Ellie asked as Lucifer's eyes widened.

He sprung off the bed and snatched the phone out of her hands. "No, Dexter. Whatever it is, I'm sure you can handle it. Can't you? Yes, we'll see you at the end of the weekend. Goodbye." He gave Ellie a look. "What were you doing? Were you trying to ruin this?"

"Well, Dexter said the kids have grown up!" Ellie told him.

"That's good!" Lucifer said. "That means they can take care of themselves. Maybe we can take an even longer vacation now."

"But Dexter said they were ornery," Ellie added. "He didn't get more specific than that, but I know that I don't want to go home and find the entire mansion burned to the ground or something."

"Look," Lucifer told her as he put the phone down and led her back to bed. "Whatever the children do, Dexter and the others can handle it. They know my tricks, so what they're facing now won't be any different. All right?" He kissed her cheek and gave her a spank. "Why don't you let me some of that new underwear of yours, huh?"

"Okay," Ellie nodded and tried to suppress her natural tendency to worry and be sexy instead. She made her way into the bathroom with the bag she'd bought and put on the black panties, leather jacket, stockings, and heels on, tossing the empty bag into the trash. She then stood up and got her balance and headed to the door. "Are you ready?" She called, her hand on the doorknob. "I want you to have time to prepare yourself."

"Oh, darling, believe me," Lucifer called back. "Nothing you could do could possibly shock me. I've had a million scenarios in my head ever since I realized there was a bag of underthings that you wouldn't let me see until later."

"Well, all right, then," Ellie said and stepped out of the bathroom. "If you're sure." She then paused in front of the bed to enjoy the look on Lucifer's face. He froze. His eyes widened. His jaw dropped. He tried to speak, but couldn't seem to be able to form coherent sentences. She took advantage of this kicked off her shoes, and came around to whisper in his ear. "What was it you were saying about nothing shocking you anymore? You seem pretty shocked to me."

"It's not shock," Lucifer finally got out. "The blood just left my brain. I couldn't...I needed time to pull myself back together."

"Oh, there's no rush," Ellie grinned as she straddled him, ran her fingers through his hair, gave him a lingering kiss, and then made a small cut on his shoulder, licking up the small stream of blood with her tongue. "I like my men stupid." Then she let out a cry as he brought her underneath him and pulled her jacket aside to get a good look at her chest before slipping her panties down.

"Just for that, you don't get to be on top," he told her. "So there."

"Oh, what a tragedy," Ellie grinned. "However will I manage?" She then giggled as he parted her legs and began tasting her. "Good, yes. Very good," she said, shutting her eyes and letting herself enjoy it. She began to relax, the thoughts of whatever was going on with the now-grown twins slowly fading from her mind. It was nice. Just how it should be. At least until she climaxed and had to grip the mattress tightly to keep from falling off the bed.

She opened her eyes and found Lucifer grinning down at her. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I'm fine. Of course." She grinned and threw her arms around his neck. "Totally fine."

"Really?" He asked as he ran his fingers her bare stomach. "You feel warm all over." He went and got a few ice cubes out of the ice bucket and ran them over her stomach, arms, legs, neck, and inner thighs as she squealed and tried not to accidentally kick him.

"That _is_ much better," she agreed when the cubes were gone. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he grinned and kissed her as he buried himself inside her over and over again, and laughing loudly when she called out his name and it echoed on the bedroom walls.

Finally, they separated and stared at each other with goofy smiles on their faces. Then Ellie's eyes began to close as she scooted closer and closer to him under the covers. He was about to fall asleep too, but then felt something: her hand. She was touching him.

When he realized this, he rolled onto his back and looked up at her as she grinned down at him.

"Do you want me to stop?" She asked. "Are you too tired? I just...I just thought you deserved a turn after you did so much for me."

"Oh, please keep going," he told her. "Please." He was very surprised though when she sneaked under the covers and began doing things with her mouth that he he'd only _thought_ she was capable of.

"Surprise," she whispered when she resurfaced, her fingers gently massaging her bare chest. "Was that good?"

"Yeah," Lucifer nodded. He was dumbstruck. He was warm all over, he felt like he'd just experienced the sort of pleasure that sent people to him in the first place. He stared back at Ellie as she lay down on her pillow and smiled at him innocently. How did she do it? How did she conceal such delicious wickedness behind such an angelic face?

* * *

"Okay," Dexter," Maeve assured him as she stood by the door of the room. "Both of the brats are locked in there and there's no way they'll be able to get out until their parents get back."

"This is a bad idea, you know!" Vincent cried. "We could still burn the whole damn place down if we wanted to. And since we're in here together, it would just happen faster!"

"Dexter, please let us out!" Valerie begged. "I'll be good, I promise!"

"I think they mean it," Dexter gulped. "Maybe we need to rethink this plan."

"What other options do we have?" Maeve asked. Her head was beginning to hurt. "Ordinarily, I would just kill them, but unfortunately, that's not an option."

"Dexter could sacrifice himself," Jack suggested. "Valerie likes him. If we kept her calm, that would be an improvement. Between the two, she's the more obvious loose cannon."

"Oh, I'm not sure about that," Maeve disagreed. Sure, Valerie had the bolder personality, but Vincent...she could never tell what he was thinking and it made her nervous. "I'll take Vincent, you take Valerie."

"All right," Dexter agreed. "Sounds like a plan."

Maeve then opened the door and the twins tried to make a run for it.

"Don't even think about it, you two," she said. "Get back there. We have to talk!"

"They're still trapping us here," Valerie rolled her eyes.

"Remind me why we're putting up with this again?" Vincent added.

"Cause in your heart of hearts, you want to make a good impression on your parents when they finally see you," Dexter told them. "Right?"

"Fine," Vincent sighed. "If you say so. What are you going to do to us now?"

"Well, we're separating you for one," Dexter told him. "Valerie will stay in here with me, and Vincent will go somewhere else with Maeve. It's only for the rest of the weekend. It won't be forever."

"I'm good with it," Valerie grinned, her eyes locked on him. "Sounds fair to me."

"You, come here," Maeve snapped at Vincent reaching for his arm to haul him to his feet.

"Oh, don't you touch me!" Vincent snapped back. "I am perfectly capable of leaving a room by myself." He then squared his shoulders and strode out of the room with Maeve following close behind.

When they were gone and Dexter and Valerie were left alone, she grinned at him shyly. "You know, you can take your tie off, if you want. I don't mind."

"I think I'll keep it on," he told her. "But thanks. This...this must be weird, being big all of a sudden, huh?"

"Yeah," Valerie nodded, shaking out her dark hair. "But I like it." She paused. "Why do you think we grew up?"

"I don't know," Dexter shrugged. "But my best guess is that it happened because your mom grew up fast too. And when your dad put the spell on her that made it happen, maybe that affected her whole genetic make-up."

"Weird," Valerie nodded. "But it makes sense." She came and sat closer to him, putting her head on his shoulder. When he turned his head, he could smell the scent of her hair, which was nice.

"You don't have to worry," he said and kissed her forehead. "We'll get this all under control, okay? Everything will be all right."

"I know," she said. "I've always felt safe with you. I feel safe right now." She got off her own chair and came to sit on his lap while he stared up at her and tried to control his breathing. "If I had to be stuck in a room with anyone until Mom and Dad came back," she said, "I'm glad it was you, Dexter."

"Yeah," Dexter nodded. "I feel the same way."

* * *

Maeve and Vincent, however, didn't feel as warm toward each other.

"You can't keep me in here," he told her. "I'm gonna knock you out and then make a run for it. I'm absolutely serious. Don't think I can't."

"Just our luck that you get your mother's bad temper and not the nice part of her."

"I can be nice," Vincent replied. "I just don't like to be trapped somewhere against my will, okay? That shouldn't be a hard thing to figure out."

"No, what shouldn't be a hard thing to figure out," Maeve countered as she blocked the door, "Is that when you make a mess of the house and then threaten to burn it down, you're going to be restrained. I'm not going to let you just be out of control!"

"Let me out of this room," Vincent repeated.

"And what will you do if I don't?" Maeve asked. "You're not wandering around unsupervised."

Vincent paused. Clearly a new approach was called for. "Okay," he said at last. "What if we just pick a different room? One that actually has stuff for me to _do_?" He gestured around the empty room. "There's nothing here! How am i supposed to entertain myself?" He then looked at her and grinned. "Unless you're the entertainment."

"Oh, in your dreams, kid," Maeve chuckled. "I wouldn't even go there with your dad and I _certainly_ won't with you. Besides...I'm already attached at the moment."

"Are you?" Vincent asked. "Is it a guy?"

"Yes," Maeve nodded, hands on hips. "It is."

"What's he like?" Vincent continued.

"None of your business is what he's like," Maeve told him.

"Either you occupy my time by telling me about this guy you like or I cause you more trouble," Vincent got out. "Which one would you prefer?"

"He's your grandfather," Maeve muttered. "But it's nothing serious."

"I didn't know you had a thing for old men," Vincent chuckled as he paced around the room. "This is interesting."

"Oh, you've never _seen_ your grandfather, have you?" Maeve asked. "He's just as annoying as you are, but he's _much_ better looking." She sighed. "I suppose if it'll shut you up, we can go to a different room. Your mom's yoga room might be good. It has exercise equipment. You can punch stuff. Or I can. Either way is all right with me."

"There you go!" Vincent grinned as she opened the door and they made their way to the gym. "It's not hard to be reasonable is it?"

Maeve sighed. She didn't think she'd ever find a guy who annoyed her more than Junior, but it was safe to say that he definitely was not at the top of that list anymore._

* * *

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Maeve muttered angrily when the ring of her phone woke her up at two in the morning, just when she'd finally gotten to sleep, and she saw it was Junior who was calling.

"What do you want?" She whispered in response to his greeting. "You're not supposed to call me! I'm supposed to call _you_! And if you expect me to give you some sort of compliment report, not gonna happen!"

"Oh, I don't need you to tell me what a good time you had," Junior assured her. "I know you did, even if you tried to hide it. I saw it in your eyes. You liked it when I said you were beautiful."

"Well, it's not something I hear very often, so naturally when it comes out, I'm gonna perk up a little," Maeve blustered. "It doesn't mean anything. It's just a natural reaction."

"Yeah, okay, sure," Junior played along. "I just wanted to call at a time when I knew you wouldn't purposefully try and avoid me to say that if there are ever any functions you want to have sneaky risky sex at, I'm all for it. I like your style."

"What about me saying that I was going to nail your tongue to my bedroom wall?" Maeve asked. "Did that scare you?"

"I've been through medical school," Junior reminded her. "I've cut up all sorts of dead people. Nothing you can say about dissecting organs or ripping them out will shock me."

"Well," Maeve got out, "You just might have some potential after all. Not a lot. Only a little." She paused and wrestled with it a long time before she finally said her next words. "I think you should know that you're no longer on top of the list of my least favorite men."

"Really?" Junior questioned. "There's some guy out there you hate more than me? Who is it? Are you okay?"

"It's nothing bad," Maeve quickly assured him, although she was touched by his concern. "Your grandson just grew up fast like your daughter did and he's a pain in the ass."

"I'm sorry," Junior told her and then she let out a cry as he appeared from out of nowhere at the foot of her bed in nothing but boxers and a t-shirt. "Wanna talk about it?"

"No," Maeve shook her head. "Our relationship is not about feelings. I don't want to burden you with stupid things that I can solve myself."

"Maybe our relationship _should_ be about feelings," Junior said as he climbed in bed beside her. "I mean, not a lot. You don't have to weep on my shoulder or anything. But if...if something is wrong...if something is bothering you...you can tell me."

"Okay," Maeve sighed. "Thanks. Your grandson is the biggest pain in the ass that I have ever met, and you know who I work for. Maybe he'll be better once his parents come back, but...I don't know what to do with him. It's the first time I've not felt in control of something and I hate it."

"I'm sorry," Junior told her. "And thank you for telling me. Thanks for letting me in. I appreciate it."

"But when I tell you stuff like that, it won't leave this room, right?" Maeve questioned.

"No," Junior shook his head. "It won't, I promise."

"Good," Maeve replied. "And now that feelings are out and dealt with...let's do fun. Or not _fun_ , but I just...I need...just this once, I need..."

"I know what you need," Junior told her, taking off his clothes, throwing them to the side of the bed, and then helping Maeve off with hers. Then, he kissed her, his fingers running through her hair, then lightly over her face and down her neck, which he then nibbled on gently.

Maeve let out a breath as he sucked on her nipples and kissed her belly, his tongue swirling around her belly button. She liked the feeling of his strong, warm hands on her hips as he pleasured her slowly but deftly with his tongue. And it was only after she climaxed that he looked at her again.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Good," she nodded as he took her hand in his. "Good. That felt good. I thought I would hate it...you know, the idea of not being in control, but this time...I...thank you."

"You're welcome," Junior replied. "You wanna be on top for a bit?"

"No," Maeve shook her head. "Not tonight. "Let's keep going like this, please, even if it's just this once."

"All right," he said, and gave her a smile before burying himself inside her. "Whatever you want is all right with me. Cause that's still sticking to the contract as long as I'm doing whatever you want."

"Yeah," Maeve nodded. "Exactly."


	43. An Obvious Trick

"We're home!" Ellie announced as she made her way through the front door of the mansion with Lucifer close behind her. "The house is in one piece. That's a good sign. Good work, everyone!" She smiled at Lucifer after plopping the bags down on the floor. "Now I want to see my babies!"

"Hey, you guys!" Dexter said when he came upon them. He tried to keep cool, but the way he nervously pushed his hair back, plus his obvious nervous sweating, gave him away. "How was the weekend?"

"Good," Ellie nodded. "I hope the situation with the twins wasn't too much for everyone to handle. I'm so sorry it happened when we weren't home."

"Well, it was a bit of a challenge at first," Dexter admitted. "But we got it worked out eventually so that they behaved themselves."

"Thank you," Ellie told him seriously. "You deserve a _long_ vacation after all of this."

"I probably should take one," Dexter nodded. "But it can wait. I'll think about it, though. Now, you want to see your children? They're in two separate rooms cause we felt that putting them in the same room when they were emotionally volatile would just end in tragedy."

"They were emotionally volatile?" Ellie asked. "I hope no one was hurt!"

"Well, Valerie lost a dress to fire, but other than that, things were fine," Dexter shrugged.

"Where are they?" Lucifer questioned. "I'll see Valerie first."

But they didn't have to even go back to the room to see her because apparently Dexter had taken too long to come back and she came looking for him instead.

"What's kept you?" She asked. Then she stopped, grinned, and made her way toward her parents, her thoughts (for once) on someone other than Dexter himself.

"Hi, Daddy!" She smiled and sidled right up to him, giving him a tight hug. "How are you? Did you know that I would look like this now? And if you hear something about the house being on fire or whatever, that was all Vincent's doing, not mine. _I'm_ the good one."

"Yes, well, good for you," Lucifer told her, feeling a little overwhelmed by the fact that the young woman standing in front of him was darling little Valerie.

"Thanks," Valerie said. "You know, I really think we need to talk about what I'm going to do with myself."

"Do with yourself?" Lucifer repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what's my purpose?" Valerie questioned. "You gonna let me in on the family business or what? Cause I really think I would be _awfully_ good at it."

"You think?" Lucifer asked.

"Yeah!" Valerie nodded. "Unless you think only Vincent could that. I wouldn't let him if I were you, though. He's not much of a people person and you need a wheeler and dealer type." She grinned. "That's me!"

"I'll...I'll think about it for sure," Lucifer replied. She didn't waste any time. He liked that. "Where's your brother?"

"You have to leave and go see stupid Vincent now?" Valerie scoffed. "What about _me_? You only just got here!"

"Well, you can be with Dexter until we get back," Lucifer told her. "And we _will_ come back."

"All right then," Valerie nodded, pouting down at her lap. "Go ahead."

Lucifer sighed. "Come on, Eleanor," he told Ellie. "Let's go find our son."

* * *

Since it was her exercise room he was holed up in, Ellie found it easily. "We're back!" She announced. "How's everyone in here?"

"Oh, you're back!" Maeve cried. "I can go! I'm free!" She ran out the door and then pushed it shut behind her.

"Just what did you do to her?" Ellie asked her son, who didn't answer right away because he was meditating. So they waited, and then finally, he opened his eyes and looked at them.

"Hello," he said and got to his feet. "So glad you're here. If I had to spend another second with that Maeve..."

"She seemed glad to be free of you too," Ellie remarked. "So what did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything!" Vincent said. "Why do you just assume it was all my fault? Why can't you be on _my_ side?"

"All right, I'm sorry," Ellie played along. "So who caused the trouble? You or her?"

"It was _her!_ " Vincent insisted. "She was the one who insisted that I stay in here all the time and put a stupid spell on the door so that I couldn't leave except at bedtime."

"Well, I'm sure she had her reasons," Ellie said. "Now that we're here, though, you don't have to stay in this room. You can go about the house as you wish."

"Good," Vincent smiled. "Cause I sneaked out at night and I went to this club and met some people. I promised I'd see them again. Female people! Or whoever comes along. I'll take whatever." He looked at Lucifer. "Wanna come, Dad? I think it would be fun."

He zipped out of the room and Ellie grabbed Lucifer by his collar. "You go follow him!" She urged. "I think this particular quirk came from you, so you be the one to deal with it."

"Right," Lucifer nodded. "Right. I'll go, don't worry. And give Valerie my apologies, would you?"

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "Of course."

* * *

Of course the place they went was the Underground. Despite the part Roxie had played in making a fool of him, Lucifer had to admire how quickly she'd gotten the place up and running and how successful it seemed.

The second they stepped in the club, men and women surrounded them. Lucifer directed all their attention toward his son and then took a seat at the bar where he could keep a close eye on Vincent while he had his good time so nothing would happen that would lead to problems with his mother later.

"Who's the kid you came in with?" Roxie asked. "And what can I get you?"

"Surprise me and make it a double," Lucifer told her. "I really have to commend you for what you've done to this place, in spite of your trickery."

"That was Mom's idea!" Roxie replied. "And she was all in scary lady mode and I always wanted to be part of a plan she had when she was in scary lady mode."

"Ah, all right," Lucifer nodded as a double scotch and soda was slid his way. "As for who I came in with...he's my _actual_ child. One of them, anyway."

"He's a bit big, isn't he?" Roxie asked.

"Yes, well, I think he got that from Eleanor," Lucifer remarked. "I put a spell on her to make her grow from a toddler because I didn't want to wait to be with her and I think that affected our children as well."

"Well, that answers that question," Roxie nodded and then looked where Lucifer was looking, at Vincent, who was grinning and surrounded by several people on the dance floor, making close contact with each one. "He didn't have to wait too long for company, did he?"

Lucifer chuckled. "Well, no," he said. "He gets that from me, you see. A lot of my powers are just like what you and Eleanor have as vampires, but...I have a couple of my own special tricks to pass on."

"And attracting people like that is one of those things," Roxie guessed.

"Yes," Lucifer grinned. "Exactly."

"Should I just keep the drinks coming?" Roxie asked. "Are the two of you gonna be here til closing?"

"I thionk so," Lucifer nodded. "It's been a while since he's been out of the house. This'll do him some good."

"Right," Roxie nodded. "Well, if you need anything else, just let me know."

"I will," Lucifer nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Roxie told him and went to serve someone else who wanted a drink.

* * *

"So...how was the wedding?" Klaus asked Christopher, getting hold of his son just before he went to bed. "Was it nice?"

"It was okay," Christopher replied. "I had to wear a suit and take a bath and stuff, but...I got to be with Hannah, so...that was good. How are you and Mom?"

"We're...we're doing all right," Klaus assured him. "We're thinking that we might try and come and visit you soon. Would you like that? You probably wouldn't mind a familar face. I bet you don't have too many chances to make friends around there."

"I would love to see you, but I think I might have more chances to make friends than I had before," Christopher told him.

"Oh?" Klaus asked. "How's that?"

"Well, Lucifer and Ellie had little kids, but then they grew up somehow and now they're the same age as me!" Christopher replied. "I haven't talked to them yet, but I think there could be an opportunity there."

"Good!" Klaus told him. "I really hope that works out for you. I know your mother will be glad to hear about it, cause she's worried about you being all alone in your room with no one to talk to on a daily basis."

"It's not so bad," Christopher replied. "I'm managing. Are you serious about coming to visit me at some point?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Why would I lie to you about that?"

"Well, you wouldn't," Christopher told him. "But I know sometimes people get busy and stuff."

"Don't worry," Klaus told him firmly. "Your mother and I will definitely be seeing you soon. I promise."

"All right," Christopher replied and yawned. "I gotta go to bed now. I didn't realize I was so tired!"

"Yes, you should," Klaus told him. "It was nice to talk to you, son, and I'm glad things are going well, considering the circumstances."

"Me too," Christopher replied. "Thanks for calling and would you tell Mom that I say 'Hi'?"

"Of course I will," Klaus nodded. "She'd love to hear that. Goodnight, Christopher."

"Goodnight, Dad," Christopher replied, then ended the call, turned off the lights, and tucked himself into bed, a small smile on his face.

* * *

Junior was surprised when he got a phone call from Sarah a few days later. "Hi," he said to her. "What's going on? How are you? Is something wrong with Ellie?"

"No, nothing is wrong with Ellie," Sarah told him. "I just wanted to thank you for making the wedding so pleasant and cooperating with Josh when it came to Ellie wanting both of you to walk her down the aisle. You could have made it really awkward, but you didn't. It made it nice for me to just watch the whole thing and not have to play mediator."

"What about our objection speech?" Junior said. "Was that bad behavior?"

"Well, we all knew it was coming," Sarah replied. "But it wasn't anything that Lucifer hadn't heard before and you didn't actually kill him, so we'll consider that a win. In fact, in celebration of the fact that you and Josh have reached a detente, why don't you come have dinner with Josh and me? You can even bring someone with you so you won't feel like a third wheel!"

"Who would I bring?" Junior questioned.

"Whoever you're dating!" Sarah told him. "I can't wait to meet her. A good-looking man like you wouldn't stay single for long, right?"

"Right," Junior nodded, his heart sinking a little. "Exactly. I have so many women I see, it's going to be hard to pick who to bring!"

"Good," Sarah told him. "Just make sure they know they're coming to a nice dinner, all right?"

"Sure," Junior nodded. "No problem. And thanks...thanks for inviting me."

"You're welcome," Sarah told him. "I think this'll be good for us, don't you? Turn over a new leaf and all that?"

"Yeah," Junior nodded. "I agree."

"Would Saturday work for you?" Sarah asked. "I figure we should do this soon and not postpone it forever."

"Saturday sounds good to me," Junior told her, even if it was only three days away. "I'll be there. With my date. It'll be fun."

"It sure will," Sarah nodded. "That's what I'm going for, anyway. Bye, Sean. Can't wait to see you."

"Yeah," Junior said. "Can't wait to see you either, Sarah!"

The call ended then and he got out his address book, looking through it and making calls, then growling with frustration when it turned out that every woman he knew was either married, dating someone else, or hated him. He couldn't show up alone, though. He had to show Sarah that he was in fact dating someone and wasn't just a single loser. He only had one option. He wouldn't take it ordinarily, cause it would come with a steep price, but this was a desperate situation. He got himself a stiff drink, downed it, and made a call he knew he'd hate himself for making later.

* * *

"I know that this is the second time I've initiated a meeting when that's your job, a panicked Junior told Maeve. "But I just...I need your help!"

"For what?" Maeve asked. "What sort of thing do you need help with? What could you _possibly_ need me for?"

"I need you to be my date for a dinner," Junior blurted. "It's to meet my family. If you don't come, I'll look stupid."

"Well, that's all the more reason for me not to come," Maeve told him. "I _thrive_ on you looking stupid!"

Junior growled in frustration and slammed the phone down. Then he decided to go ask Maeve in person. It had turned out better the last time he'd done that. "You should be my date," he told her while standing in Maeve's bedroom doorway with his foot in the door so she couldn't close it. "It's just for an evening. It won't kill you. You don't know how painful it is to be the third wheel when Josh is dating my ex!"

"Oh, that's right!" Maeve hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. "I forgot that you and Josh were rivals for a minute there." She paused and shrugged. "All right, I'll be your date for this dinner. But you're still pathetic and you're gonna owe me big."

"How big?" Junior asked.

"I'm not telling you now!" Maeve told him. "You'll just chicken out. Let's call it a surprise and leave it at that."

"Okay," Junior replied. He was desperate enough to do whatever she wanted in return, she knew it, and he hated she knew it. "Whatever. Just come to dinner with me. Behave yourself. Pretend you like me. Can't you do that for a night?"

"It's really gonna cost you, but all right," Maeve agreed.

"Thanks," Junior told her. "It's Saturday night. Would you like me to come pick you up?"

"Sure," Maeve agreed. "Whatever. See you then."

* * *

"Well, this is a surprise," Sarah remarked the night of the dinner when she opened the door and saw Junior on the other side with Maeve. Out of all the women he would have shown up at the house with, Maeve wasn't on the list. "Hi, Maeve. Nice to see you again!"

"Hi," Maeve replied, a wide grin on her face as she let Junior lead her into the house. "When Junior told me about this dinner and the opportunity to meet his family, I just had to come! I couldn't pass it up!"

"Okay, what's she doing here?" Josh asked, rising to his feet. "Get her out of here."

"I'm Junior's date," Maeve told him sweetly. "I'm not here to cause trouble, I promise."

"All right, who wants a drink?" Sarah asked, the unsettled feeling that popped up whenever Junior and Josh were in the same room. "I know I do!" She ran to the kitchen and Maeve grinned at Josh as she began running her fingers through Junior's hair and put one of his hands on her thigh.

"I don't know what you're so upset about, Josh," she told him. "I thought you would be glad to see that Junior was otherwise occupied so he wouldn't be nosing around your wife anymore."

"Well, of course, but you...you're not better than him being single!" Josh told her. "I'll still have to look at you over the damn table during all the holidays!"

"Oh, calm down!" Maeve told him. "I'll probably get sick of him and dump him before anything serious happens. Let's just play nice for now, okay?"

"Who says you'll dump _me_?" Junior asked. "I could dump _you_!"

"Yeah, right," Maeve grinned and ruffled his hair again as she got to her feet. "It's so cute that you think that might happen." When she got up to go to the kitchen, Junior followed her.

"I thought the agreement for tonight was that you were gonna act like you like me!" He whispered. "Telling everyone that you know exactly when you're going to dump me is _not_ liking me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, chipmunk cheeks!" Maeve said. "I didn't know you were so sensitive! I'll be nicer from now on."

"Yeah, you better be!" Junior said.

They went back to the living room and sat on the love seat so that her legs were across his lap.

"This is really a surprise," Josh remarked. "I never would have pegged you two as a thing."

"Well, we saw each other at the wedding, you know, and...it was just...we had a moment and decided to see where it would go from there," Maeve smiled. "Granted, we knew each other from before when I had to go to his house to do errands for Ellie, but the wedding was the first time our connection had nothing to do with her whatsoever."

"Uh-huh," Josh nodded. "So what was it specifically that brought you two together? He doesn't seem like your type at all, Maeve."

"Well, he's not," Maeve admitted. "But I figure if my boss can get attached to someone after being against it for so long, it might not hurt me to give it a try."

"And how's that working out for you?" Josh asked.

"Well, obviously it's going well if I brought her to meet you, isn't it?" Junior snapped as he ran his hand over Maeve's bare leg, Ordinarily the action would have terrified him, but Josh grilling her so thoroughly was beginning to make him feel defensive. "What more do you need to know than that? I don't dig into _your_ private life!"

Maeve leaned forward and kissed his cheek then. "It's so nice of you to defend my honor like that!" She told him. "I like you more every day, sweetheart!" Then she caught Josh's eye and gave Junior a big kiss.

"Okay," Josh said and stood up. "So glad we haven't eaten yet because now I think I'm sick to my stomach."

That was when Sarah grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen. "Will you stop?" She asked. "I know it's weird to see them together, but if they're happy, just let them be happy, all right? Now Sean's behaving better than you are!"

"Okay, fine," Josh told her. "But this is all a scam! I bet they don't even like each other and are just pretending!"

"I wouldn't go there so fast," Sarah said. "Stranger things have happened. Now, don't you say another word about them unless it's something positive, okay? If you can't say anything positive, just be quiet."

So Josh sat through dinner in silence, his hands balled into fists under the table and his cheek twitching as he watched Maeve laugh at Junior's lame jokes and smile as he fed her steak from his fork and she fed him from the sundae they shared after. It was really unbelievable.

Sarah admired his self-control but decided after dessert that it would be kind to give him a break because he looked like he wanted to break everything in the kitchen. "Well, this has been a great evening!" She remarked. "But we to to visit Rodan and Katherine early tomorrow morning, so..."

"Oh, that's fine!" Junior said and got up. "We have stuff we need to do bright and early tomorrow too, so we'll get out of your hair."

"We should do this again!" Sarah called after them.

"Preferably when I'm not home!" Josh added.

Once they were gone, she shut the door, crossed her arms, and gave him a look. "What was that about?" She asked.

"I thought you were gonna compliment me on my marvelous self-control," Josh replied. "I did exactly what you asked. I was good. I didn't say anything bad. Not that there wasn't plenty to say. That was _clearly_ a trick, because like I said, there is _no way_ those two would naturally be attracted to each other."

"There could be one," Sarah said. "Maeve's a really physical person, isn't she? Well, Junior is too. That could bring them together. And besides that, I think it means something that he brought her with him to meet us. He never does that. He doesn't connect on a deep level very easily. Not even with me. He's always more comfortable showing affection through sex."

"Yeah, and I bet you miss that," Josh sighed. "Sorry I'm not more like him."

"No, no!" Sarah shook her head. "Stop putting words in my mouth." She pulled him to her and kissed him soundly before looking into his eyes. "You are a loving and emotionally intelligent person," she said. "You care. You like deep conversation and hugs and stuff and I do too. You've never been just about my body or whatever. That's why we were together even with all the baggage I came to you with. You shouldered it all and accepted it as part of me. That's why I picked you and why Sean will never be anything more than a person from my past that I share a daughter with. That's it. Do you understand me? Please tell me you do. I'm gonna stand here and stare at you until you tell me you get that."

"Yes, I _do_ understand it," Josh told her. "I'm sorry." He hugged her tight and kissed her hair. "It's just that...you mean so much to me and I really...it would kill me to lose you. to Junior or anyone."

"Well, you won't, okay?" Sarah assured him. "I promise."

"Good," he said. "That's exactly what I needed to hear."


	44. A Deal Too Good To Pass Up

"Is it all right if my parents come to visit me?" Christopher asked Lucifer and Ellie. "Dad and I talked last night and he said they would come if it was okay."

"Well, of course your parents can come if you would like to see them," Ellie nodded. "You're not a prisoner." She paused and gestured at the empty seat next to Vincent at the family breakfast table. "Why don't you come and eat with us?"

"Okay," Christopher nodded.

There was an empty seat by Valerie too and she tried to get Christopher's attention so that he would come and sit by her, even though she had no idea who he was. But he ignored her and took the seat next to Vincent, which made her pout.

"Vincent, Valerie, this is Christopher," Ellie introduced him. "He's a guest at our house."

"So he's not a brother that we didn't know about?" Valerie asked. "Why does he live here? Is he some sort of freak?"

It was then that she was blasted out of her chair and onto the floor. "Don't talk about him like that!" Vincent snapped. Then he turned to Christopher. "Don't mind her. She has problems."

"Okay," Christopher nodded. "I won't."

"Good," Vincent nodded and handed him some extra sausage. "Here, I'm too full to eat those. And would you like to come out with me later? It could be fun."

"I don't know," Christopher hesitated. "I don't know where I can go where people would not be scared of me. Maybe it would be best if I stayed here."

"You should go out," Ellie insisted with a smile. "I'm sure it won't be as difficult as you think."

"Yeah," Lucifer agreed and then caught his son's eye. "Take him to the club. There are demons and supernatural creatures of all types there. He'll feel right at home."

"Of course I'll take him there," Vincent nodded. "Where else would I take him?"

"Maybe you should try and go somewhere else first," Ellie suggested. "This is Christopher's first time going out and it might overload him just a bit to be in a club full of people with all the loud music and everything." She paused and then looked at Christopher guiltily. "Not that I'm trying to tell you how to live your life," she assured him in an apologetic tone. "If you want to go to the club with Vincent as your first outing away from the house, then be my guest. You might have fun for all I know."

To everyone's surprise, Christopher caught Lucifer's eye. "What do you think?" He asked. "Do you think going to a club would be too much for me?"

"Well, what else would you do?" Lucifer asked. "Would we find some little friends for you and invite them over for a tea party or something?"

"No!" Ellie shook her head. "Nothing like that! I just don't want him to be overwhelmed is all. I said he could go to the club if he wanted to. I'm not going to stop him."

"I think he should stay in," Valerie remarked. "Wouldn't want to overload his delicate system or have people throw rotten vegetables at him cause they're afraid of his face."

"All right, that's it!" Christopher yelled, getting to his feet and striding over to glare at Valerie, his demon face on full display. "I don't know what your problem is with me and frankly, I don't care. But I'm going to go to the club with your brother, and I am going to have a good time, if for no reason than to prove you wrong, you bitch!" He then stomped out of the dining room to go dress, leaving everyone else staring at each other in stunned silence. Then Valerie smiled.

"Well, I think I did my good deed for the day," she remarked.

"You did?" Vincent asked. "And just how do you figure that?"

"He was timid before, you know?" Valerie remarked. "You could just tell he was going to find some excuse to back out. I pissed him off, and now he's doing what he needs to do to grow and become a better person out of sheer spite. Nothing makes people do things like sheer spite."

"I think you should apologize to him, Valerie," Ellie said firmly. "You meant well in your own way, but it was still really mean."

"Well, I wasn't exactly put on this earth to be nice, was I?" Valerie pointed out. She looked at Lucifer. "Isn't that right, Daddy? We're supposed to be causing trouble not baking people cookies and patting their heads cause they did a good job."

"That's true," Lucifer admitted. "But there is a difference between Christopher and the type of people you'll usually be working with, so keep that in mind."

Valerie got up from her chair and rolled her eyes. "Oh, all right!" She said irritably. "I'll go apologize to Christopher. I still don't think I did anything wrong, though."

She strode out of the room and Vincent looked at Lucifer. "Do you _really_ think she's going to apologize?" He asked.

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "She would if she hurt anyone who meant something to her, like Dexter does. But not Christopher. There's no attachment there."

"Even so, I'm going to have a talk with her," Ellie said firmly. "She can do what she wants with common foolish humans on the street, but anyone under this roof deserves her respect." She gave Lucifer a look. "You agree with me on that, right?" She asked. "If she tries to pit us against one another, you'll back me up?"

"Of course," Lucifer assured her. "I wouldn't do anything else. And not just because I know that making you angry will mean I sleep alone. I would do it because I love and respect you and it's the right thing to do."

"You're damn right it is," Ellie nodded and then went back to her now cold eggs. "You're damn right it is."

* * *

"Now are you _positive_ there's people like me in there?" Christopher asked as he and Vincent arrived at the Underground.

"Yes," Vincent replied for what seemed like the thousandth time. But he understood why Christopher was nervous, so he was patient. "There's music and drinks and food and all sorts of fun stuff. You won't regret going in, I promise. And think of what a great story this will be to tell your parents the next time you see them. It wouldn't be fun if they came to visit and wanted to know what you've been doing with yourself and all you could tell them was that you've been sitting up in your room alone. Right?"

"Yeah, you know, you're right!" Christopher nodded. "I never thought of it that way, but you have a point. Let's go!" He pushed the door open and Vincent followed him inside, telling everyone who came upon them when he came in the door that he was there with his friend and wouldn't be as available as he had been the previous time he'd been there.

"That is so cool how all those people like you," Christopher remarked as they got away from the adoring throngs and took seats at a table. "How do you do it? Can you teach _me_?"

"I don't know if it's something that can be taught," Vincent shrugged. "But I'll sure try. You want a whole list of girls to like you so you're busy every night of the week?"

"No," Christopher shook his head. "Nothing like that. I really want just one woman to like me and that's it. I don't need a whole bunch."

"Who?" Vincent asked. "You can tell me."

"I don't know if I should," Christopher told him, flushing a bit. "It might embarrass you."

"Give it a try," Vincent urged. "I can handle it."

"Fine," Christopher told him. "It's your aunt. Your aunt Hannah." He waited for Vincent to be disgusted. But he wasn't. He just looked intrigued and took out a pad to make notes.

"Okay," he said. "You want affection from my aunt Hannah."

"Yes," Christopher nodded. "Yes I do. And I got it once. I just need to make it so I can get it all the time. So what do I do? Give me a hint."

"You want me to help you with your appearance?" Vincent offered. "Make you into just a normal vampire or warlock or something so you don't have all the complicated stuff going on?"

"Thanks, but no," Christopher said, although for just a second, or even a fraction of a second, he'd considered that. "If I...if I really want to be with Hannah...I should be myself and not somebody else. So instead of changing me, just tell me what I can do as myself to get your aunt's attention."

"Well, what you need is _practice_ ," Vincent told him. "You haven't had a lot of experience with women, am I right?"

"Other than your aunt?" Christopher questioned. "Nope, can't say I have."

"Well, the good news is that in general, you are not a bad-looking guy," Vincent told him. "You're really attractive, in fact. And that's good. That'll make it easier for you." He looked over at the bar and noticed a pretty blonde sitting by herself. "Why don't we go talk to her?"

"Remember, I told you that I'm not looking for a date," Christopher reminded him as they made their way to the bar. "I just want to know what to say."

"And you'll know," Vincent assured him. "I promise!"

They made their way to the blonde and just before they reached her, Vincent said, "I want to let you fly solo for a bit first so I see what I have to work with."

"No," Christopher protested. "I really don't think I can-" His words were cut off as Vincent gave him a grin and an encouraging push toward the blonde. Swallowing, Christopher took the last few steps toward the woman's bar stool and stared for a few seconds before choking out a 'Hi'.

"Hello," she smiled. "I'm Amanda. What's your name?"

"Chr-Christopher," he got out. "Christopher, that's my name." He gestured at the empty bar stool next to her. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"Sure," Amanda nodded as she obviously looked him over. "It's a free country."

Christopher sat down and was about to open his mouth to practice his first move when she beat him to it. "Can I get you a drink?" She asked. "Or...it doesn't have to be a drink. It can be fries or something. They have good food here."

"Sure," Christopher replied. "Then maybe, after that, we can dance it off. What do you say? Music's good around here."

"Sure," Amanda grinned. "I would love to. Now, what is it that you want?"

"A burger and some fries wouldn't hurt," Christopher replied. "You said those were good, right?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "They are."

Vincent was stunned by Christopher's progress. He had expected to have to comfort him after he got turned down, but on his first try, he'd won. He sat next to them at the bar with a soda and watched unobtrusively in case things went wrong.

But they continued to go well and even as Vincent took some time of his own on the dance floor, his friend continued to have a good time.

Then, after they'd danced a few dances, came the thing that Vincent thought would be the problem.

"Thanks for the dances," Amanda told Christopher as they sat back down at the bar. "They were a lot of fun, even if I'm not looking to be with someone right now. I just got over a bad break-up and I need to take a little time for myself. I hope that doesn't bother you or make you feel like you're being led on."

"Oh, no!" Christopher shook his head, relief flooding through him when he realized he wouldn't have to make the awkward speech about not taking things any further himself. "I just came looking to have a little fun tonight myself. I'm glad we're on the same page."

Amanda grinned. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Christopher. Thanks for the fun night."

"Yeah," Christopher told her. "Same to you."

She then made her way toward the entrance door and Vincent came to stand next to Christopher. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," Christopher nodded. "I'm fine. You know I didn't come here looking for anything long-term. I told you that."

"Well, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how you handled yourself," Vincent praised. "Good for you."

"You were expecting a trainwreck, weren't you?" Christopher asked knowingly. "Don't be afraid to say 'Yes', because I was too. I won't be offended."

"Okay, that's what I was expecting," Vincent admitted. "But I didn't have to worry. You did all right."

"Yeah," Christopher nodded. "I did, didn't I? Now I just have to get my charms to work as easily on your aunt as they did on Amanda."

"Well, I hope that works out for you," Vincent told him.

"You do?" Christopher asked. "That surprises me."

"Of course I do," Vincent nodded. "But just so you know, if you hurt my aunt, I'll kill you. I'm just making that clear right now. Got it?"

"Yes," Christopher nodded. "Got it."

* * *

"Hey," Christopher said, pouncing on Hannah when she came through the door. Ellie had mentioned that morning that her sister was coming to visit once he and Vincent had gotten home from the club and he'd been waiting to see her all day. "Come to dinner with me. I think it could be fun."

"Will it just be you and me alone?" Hannah asked. "I don't know if I want to do that."

"Sadly no, we won't be alone," he whispered and nibbled on her ear. "It'll be dinner with my parents. But you know I'm always open for one on one time. You don't have to worry about that." He then gave her bottom a squeeze and she slapped him. They stared at each other for a long moment and then kissed each other roughly.

When they pulled apart, breathing heavily, Hannah said, "All right, I'll come to dinner with you. But you better not be lying about your parents being there."

"I wouldn't lie to you," he said, putting a hand on her cheek. "We'll have a nice time, I promise."

"Okay," Hannah nodded. She had no idea why he would lie to her about that and even though she definitely still had some misgivings about having dinner with Christopher, part of her was also interested. And she wanted to see how he acted around his parents. During this dinner, she might see a part of him that she could really love, or at least like. And that was what she wanted.

* * *

"Wow," Christopher's jaw dropped as Hannah came down the stairs in a blue dress that she'd borrowed from Ellie and joined him at the bottom to wait for Klaus and Sybil. "You look really good. I had no idea you were going to dress up for this." He looked down at his own jeans and wrinkled t-shirt and suddenly felt very embarrassed. "Would you stay and watch the door while I change?"

"Sure," Hannah nodded. "If you want to."

"What should I wear?" Christopher asked her. "A tux, like I did at the wedding?"

"No, you don't need to be that fancy," Hannah shook her head. "Come on and we'll go up and you can show me what's in your closet."

Christopher nodded and took her up to his room, which was very messy, but he didn't care. "Here's all my clothes," he told her. "There's what's on the floor, and I think there are a few things in the closet too that my mom made sure to send with me for special occasions."

"Let's start there, then," Hannah decided, kicking aside the stuff on the floor to make her way to the closet.

"See anything good?" Christopher asked. "Or is it all just terrible?"

"No," Hannah shook her head and pulled out a red shirt and black pants. "Put those on and let's see what you look like."

"All right," Christopher nodded. "And I'm not shy. You don't need to look away while I'm undressing." That last sentence was said with a grin and a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Oh, all right, I'll look," Hannah heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Since it's what you want so badly and you're not being subtle about it."

"You really want to," Christopher told her. "Don't try and pretend. I know better." He then grinned, keeping his eyes on her as he undressed. He had to admire how hard she was working to appear disinterested as he stripped down.

When he was naked, he stood in front of her with his arms crossed. "Okay, here it is. Now that you don't have to worry about keeping warm, you can have a better look."

"Oh, I can see fine," Hannah told him. She stepped closer and closer until their middles touched, her face moving closer and closer to his. He let out a noise of surprise as he felt her hands come around and firmly cup his bottom. "How long do we have until your parents come?" She whispered in his ear.

"Not long, but I can work fast," Christopher assured her as he unzipped her dress and helped her off with it. They tried to make it quick, but he was still pushing into her when Sybil and Klaus made their way into his room.

"Oh, sorry," Klaus apologized as Sybil just stood there, staring, open-mouthed. "We're sorry for interrupting. We must be early."

Hannah groaned and pushed Christopher off her as her gaze caught the time on the clock next to them. "Oh, shit!" She cried. "I thought you said you could work fast! Now we're in an awkward situation!"

"Let's step out of here a moment to give them time to dress," Klaus suggested as he pushed a still frozen Sybil out the door. "Then we can have dinner."

Once they were gone, Hannah began dressing, her face flushed bright red. "You know, I have never been so embarrassed in my _entire_ life!"

"Oh, it's not so bad," Christopher tried to assure her. "I bet they don't even care. And they didn't see anything."

"It seems like your mom did!" Hannah told him. "Look at how freaked out she was!"

Christopher put on his clothes and zipped up her dress, and then said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to be awkward for you. But remember, you hit on me! I didn't start all this!"

"Well, sure, but you could have refused me since we didn't have much time!" Hannah pointed out. "You could have said, 'No, Hannah! We don't have a lot of time until dinner. We can't have sex now. If we do, things might get awkward!'"

"I'm still working on the whole concept of self-control," Christopher reminded her. "That's gonna take some time, but I promise I'll get a grip on it eventually."

"Sure you will," Hannah sighed. "Let's go and get this horror show over with."

"It won't be so bad," Christopher assured her as he took her hand. "I promise."

They made their way to the dining room where the food was set out and Hannah waited for the snide remarks to start. To feel the tension in the air. She didn't feel it, but just to be safe, she decided to get things out of the way.

"Sorry for what you saw," she said. "We were just gonna do it for a little while."

"Oh, I understand," Klaus told her. "We've all been there. But when it's good, it's hard to stop, isn't it?"

"Apparently," Hannah sighed. "The point is, I'm sorry for embarrassing anyone who was embarrassed and I promise it won't happen again." She looked at Sybil. "Are we good? Do you hate me?"

"No, I don't hate you," Sybil told her. "I was just...a little surprised is all. And a little concerned. But you seem all right. No physical harm has come to you. Good." She gave Hannah what she hoped was a comforting smile as Christopher pulled Hannah's chair out and she sat down, then the first course was brought out, signaling the start of dinner.

* * *

"Sorry you had to babysit the kid the other night," Valerie told her aunt the next day. "It was probably a big pain in the ass, wasn't it?"

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Hannah shrugged. "I mean, he and I aren't the best of friends, but he's not horrible."

"He must be really hot naked if you put up with him when he's such a weirdo," Valerie grinned. "Don't worry, I'm not judging. I would do the same thing. In fact, it's what I'm probably going to be doing a lot."

"What do you mean?" Hannah asked, trying not to blush as what she and Christopher had done before dinner came back to her. Yes, Valerie was correct. He _did_ look awfully good naked and it counted for something. "You know I'm a bit more open-minded than your mom, but I still don't want you doing anything that will get you in trouble."

"You're joking, right?" Valerie asked. "Daughter of the devil, remember? I get _other_ people in trouble while I get off scot-free! And what better way to show Dad that I'm good at the business by finding a bunch of pathetic losers and making them give me their souls for whatever fleeting sense of satisfaction they want me to give them?"

"Just wondering..." Hannah got out. "Is there a voice in your head that says it's wrong to do that? I'm trying to figure out what the two of you got from your mother."

"Dexter says we got her bad temper," Valerie replied. "That's something, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I meant something better...like her goodness or her good work ethic or something like that."

"Of course I've got a good work ethic!" Valerie assured her. "I'm gonna be the best soul-stealer there ever was!" She leaned forward and whispered, "I wanna be even better than Dad was before he quit. But don't tell him that."

"He won't hear it from me," Hannah promised. "But how exactly are you gonna...lure people in?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Valerie grinned and stood up. She was wearing a snug black dress that showed off every curve and gave a good view of her legs as well. "I'm hot. And if you're hot, you can get people to do or say anything you want. See?" She grabbed a guy who was just walking by, locked eyes with him, and said, "If you could have anything in the world that you want right now, what would it be?"

He looked her over and pulled her to him. "How about you?" He asked.

"Oh, don't you dare!" Said another guy who happened by. " _I_ want her!"

"No," said a third. " _I_ do!"

Hannah had no idea where all these men were coming from and it was a bit freaky, but it didn't seem to faze Valerie one bit.

"Boys, boys, boys, calm down!" She said and pushed them to arms' length. "We can all be friends _together._ Come back to my place. Have a little party. What do you say?"

"Yes," All the men replied at once.

Valerie then peered at them one by one. "Even though you're married, you're dating someone, and your wife just died? Are you sure you want to do this?" She zapped up three contracts and a pen. "All right," she heaved an exaggerated sigh. "If you insist. But I'm gonna need you to sign this just in case you try and be sneaky with me when your ladies come calling."

"All right," the men grabbed the contracts (without reading them, of course) and signed away before Valerie gave her aunt a smile. "Sorry we have to cut lunch short," she said. "But I have a party to go to. These guys just paid big for some time with me and I want to make it worth their while."

"Yeah," Hannah sighed, feeling dumbstruck as she watched her niece walk away with the men following after her like baby ducks following their mother. "I just bet you do. I only hope your mother doesn't find out."

"She won't!" Valerie called back. She didn't really care what her mother thought. But she stopped at the store on the way home and brought beer, flowers, and an apology card for Dexter in case he found out what she did and was hurt by it. It was only business. She was sure he knew. But she didn't want to take any chances. Not when he was the one that she knew she wanted to be with for the rest of her life.


	45. I Want To Win

"Valerie!" Lucifer said when she came into the room he'd decided to use in the mansion as his office. "How are you? How was your time with your aunt?"

"It was nice, but we had to cut it short," Valerie told him, sitting in the chair on the other side of the desk and crossing one leg over the other. "Cause I got my first deals made!"

"You did?" Lucifer asked, getting to his feet and grinning broadly.

"Yep," Valerie put the contracts down on the desk. "See? They just signed them. Didn't even read them or anything."

Lucifer chuckled. "They never do."

Then she froze. "Should I have had them sign it in blood? Then would it be more legit?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "You can have them sign it however you want. It doesn't matter. Now, what sin are we dealing with here? Since it happened so quickly, I'm going to guess it's lust?"

"Of course!" Valerie nodded. "A bunch of guys cheating on the women they love. Isn't that terrible?"

"Oh, certainly," Lucifer nodded, his expression grave. "Is there going to be enough room in your bed? And make sure you protect yourself. You can't just do what I used to afterward and kill the people you make deals with. You can grab some of my condoms out of the bathroom if you want."

"Okay," Valerie nodded and wrinkled her nose. "I didn't need to know that, but okay." She grabbed the condoms and Lucifer grinned and wished her luck. Then she made her way back to her room where the three men waited eagerly in her bed.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting," she apologized and threw the condoms at them. "You put those on while I go change."

When they protested, she frowned and put her hands on her hips. "You don't put those on and we don't do this at all," she said firmly, then waited until they did it before going to change.

When she came out of her bathroom just in her underwear, one of the men came to carry her to bed and it didn't take long before she was as naked as the rest of them and they were all reaching to put their hands all over her soft skin.

She had just had her third orgasm when there was a knock on the door. "Just a minute," she said and got out to trek to the door. "Who is it?" She called.

"It's Dexter," he called. "Your dad said you were in here. Can we talk?"

"Sure," Valerie nodded and opened the door with a grin. "What do you need?"

She grinned even wider as Dexter became flustered, blushed bright red, and began muttering under his breath. "What is it?" She repeated. "Are you okay?"

"I-I-I don't know," he stuttered. "Um...well, jeez! This is unexpected. He didn't tell me you were naked in here."

"Are you embarrassed to see me naked, Dexter?" She asked.

"I-um-no!" Dexter shook his head. "Of course not. I've done it before. Of course you were smaller and cuter, not sexy like now, but..." He gasped and put his hand over his mouth. "Oh, damn. He muttered. "I didn't say that. Can we pretend I didn't say that?"

"You're so cute!" She said and pinched his cheek.

"Hey, buddy!" Cried one of the men from the bed. "We're in the middle of something here! Say what you wanna say and get out!"

"I don't like your tone," Dexter told him as he advanced on the bed. "And I think the people that need to go are you three."

"Actually they need to stay a bit longer," Valerie told him, whispering, "It's part of a deal I made."

"You can't be making deals!" Dexter cried. "You're way too young! Does your father know about this?"

"Yes he does, and he said it was okay!" Valerie assured him. "He even told me where the condoms were!"

"Has he lost his mind?" Dexter cried and threw the men's clothes at them. "Get out!" He snapped. "You three get out and don't come back!"

"But the deal!" Valerie cried. "What about the deal?"

"Depending on how long this has been going on, they've probably fulfilled the terms already," Dexter replied irritably. "And if they don't get out now, I'm going to send them right where they belong myself!"

"You will?" Valerie smiled and clapped as she put her robe on. "Go ahead and do it. I wanna see! I didn't even know you could!"

"I don't like to," Dexter said through his teeth. "But I will if it's necessary. Now get dressed and do something else."

"Fine," Valerie rolled her eyes. "But I don't know why you're so sore about this. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous!"

"I'm not," Dexter said, although he blushed. "I'm just very concerned."

"How concerned?" Valerie asked.

"Very," Dexter replied, and then went to tell Ellie what had happened.

* * *

After her mother had found out what she'd done, Valerie was put in her room for a little bit until Ellie decided what to do with her. When she heard the knock on the door, she stood up from her desk chair. "Come in," she called. "Let's get this over with."

But when Ellie came in, her face was anything but angry. "I think you and I need to have a talk," she said. "You wanna have a talk?"

"Not really," Valerie shook her head. "But I guess we have to."

"I really think we should," Ellie told her and sat down on Valerie's bed, gesturing for her daughter to come sit beside her. "You want to tell me what possessed you to make deals for your dad?"

Valerie shrugged. "I don't know." She paused and looked away. "Well, I do, but you're gonna think it's stupid."

"Oh, I don't think so," Ellie told her and reached out to take her hand. "The whole reason your dad and I got together was cause he said that if I went to live in hell with him, he would release all th demons he was holding hostage and let them come back to earth...and I did it. Some people would say that's stupid. So whatever you have to say, it can't be worse than that."

"Okay," Valerie got out. "I thought that if I made deals for him, that he saw I could do it well, he'd let me take over the business at some point."

"Why do you think you'd need to do all the extra work to prove it?" Ellie asked.

"Well, Hell just seems like such a _man's_ place," Valerie replied. "So I just...I know that if I don't prove my worth, Daddy is gonna pick Vincent to run things instead!"

"I don't think he will," Ellie shook her head. "He has much more faith in women to do that sort of thing than you would think. I mean, look at Maeve. She's pretty high up on the list of people your dad trusts with his life."

"You're right!" Valerie said with a smile. "I never thought of that!"

"And as a gift after we got married, he picked ten damned people, gave them eternal life, and then let me hunt them," Ellie grinned. "That's gonna be fun! Oh, and when your great aunt was feeling particular hatred toward the world in the 1920s, he made a deal with her to just kill whoever she could find and cause total chaos. So I don't think you need to worry about having to try so hard to prove yourself. Just let things be how they are and I have a feeling you'll get what you want."

"Okay," Valerie said after a short silence and gave her mother a hug. "I won't do anything like this again, I promise."

"Thank you," Ellie told her. "I appreciate it."

"But Dad _did_ tell me to use condoms," Valerie mentioned as Ellie made her way toward the door. "That's good, right?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "One of the few good things about this whole situation."

"What are you gonna do now?" Valerie asked as her mother's eyes narrowed.

"I'm gonna have a talk with your father," Ellie said. "There's no way I'm letting this go without a word."

* * *

"You let our daughter have sex with not one but _three_ men right under our roof?" Ellie shouted at Lucifer after storming into his office. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you allow that?"

"She did it as part of some deals she made!" Lucifer cried as he got to his feet. "It wasn't like it meant anything!"

"And that just makes it worse!" Ellie cried. "No deals! Our children will not be your emissaries of evil because you have other stuff you have to do with the demon government! I won't have it!"

"I don't see what was so wrong with what I did, Eleanor!" Lucifer cried. "Please tell me."

"All Valerie wants is a bit of attention and approbation from you," Ellie told him. "She just wants to know that she matters and is competent and you won't just give all the praise and stuff to Vincent because he's a boy."

"Now why in the world would she think I'd do that?" Lucifer asked. "I've learned over the years that smart and angry women are much more useful than men who feel the same way."

"But she doesn't know that!" Ellie said. "You have to tell her. And also tell her that you won't have her make deals until she knows all the risks and stuff. If you don't, it just seems like you're taking advantage of her for your own gain, and you know that's bad, right?"

"Of course I know it's bad, Eleanor!" He burst out, grabbing her by the shoulders, his eyes filled with pain and worry. "I've been a pawn of my Father's often enough to know that I would never intentionally do that to any of my own children. It's not good."

"No," Ellie shook her head. "It's not. Now you go talk to Valerie, okay? There's so much she needs to hear from you."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "Of course." He made his way to the door and paused, hand on the knob, turning to face Elie again. "I'm sorry, Eleanor."

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I really think you are. That's good. Now go talk to your daughter."

"Right," Lucifer sighed. "I'll do that."

* * *

"How was your dinner last night?" Sarah asked Hannah. "Was it fun?"

"Oh, sure," Hannah nodded. "It was great."

"Would you mind staying home tonight?" Josh asked. "You've been going to see Ellie a lot. Or maybe it's not to see Ellie."

"Who else would I see? Christopher?" Hannah chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, Daddy, you're so silly! I just have to see Christopher when I see Ellie because he lives there too. But I'm really going to see Ellie."

"Is that so?" Josh asked.

"Yes," Hannah nodded. "I promise."

* * *

But that night, a very hot dream sent her out of bed and straight back to Ellie and Lucifer's, her magic landing her right in Christopher's room cause he kept his windows open and didn't have any spells on them.

Then, she felt herself be tackled in the dark.

"No, no!" She whispered as Christopher tried to punch her. "Christopher, it's me, Hannah! Stop."

He did stop then, for a moment, and his motions changed from defensive ones to romantic ones. His body relaxed and his lips met hers as his arms closed around her body. Then he picked her up and brought her to his bed.

"Didn't get enough earlier?" He whispered in her ear.

"Apparently not," Hannah said. "But if you're too tired, we don't have to."

"No, get in my bed," he whispered, dropping her onto the mattress as she wiggled out of her panties and then climbed into bed beside her. "Sorry if I hurt you earlier," he whispered in her ear and held her close. "I just wasn't expecting you. You startled me."

"I guess," Hannah remarked, then giggled as he nipped her neck. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," he told her. "I'm glad you came." He kissed her and cupped her bottom. "I was feeling a bit lonely."

"I was supposed to stay home tonight," Hannah told him. "I promised my dad that I would. But I couldn't stay away."

He chuckled and ran his tongue down the inside of her thighs before pleasuring her with it.

"Good," she said, her eyes closing. "Good! Very good!"

After she climaxed, they paused to regroup, then she threw her arms around him and wrapped her legs around his waist as he buried himself inside her until they were both exhausted and fell asleep holding each other close.

* * *

"Morning," Christopher whispered, smiling to himself when he saw that Hannah was still in his bed and hadn't sneaked out during the night. "Wanna put on a robe and go downstairs for breakfast? I'm sure your sister won't mind."

Hannah opened her eyes and swore as she saw what time it was. "Get off!" She cried. "Get off. I have to get home or my dad will kill me!"

"And you didn't think of that when you came over here?" He asked her. "Why is that?"

"Cause I was horny and when a person is horny, they don't really think clearly, do they?"

"I could come with you and explain things to your parents," he suggested. "Not that we have anything to feel sorry about or be ashamed of, but I want them to like me."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea to do now," Hannah told him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek after she got all her clothes on. "Bye! I'll probably see you tonight!"

Once she was gone, Christopher got dressed and headed downstairs. "Is it normal for a person to make another person feel like they care about them and then just leave?" He asked Lucifer and Ellie while Vincent and Valerie looked on with interest. "Cause Hannah came by last night and stayed until morning but when I offered to go home with her and talk to your parents about our relationship, Ellie, she just...she just ran off. She always sends me mixed messages."

"Dump her," Vincent replied. "Not just because she's my aunt and you're my friend and it would be weird, but...if you want a relationship, you should have one."

"But I want one with Hannah!" Christopher huffed.

"Well, it doesn't seem like she wants one with you," Valerie said. "Or she wants one with all the easy stuff and none of the actual work and emotional commitment." She scoffed. "And she had the _nerve_ to chide _me_ about having casual sex as part of a business deal."

"Can we not talk about that, please?" Dexter questioned as he came into the kitchen. "I'm eating and I would like to be able to keep my food down, thank you very much."

"Fine," Valerie got out. "Sorry, Dexter."

"That was unusually snippy of him," Ellie remarked. "Weird."

"I know, right?" Valerie asked.

"Now back to me," Christopher interrupted. "What should I do about Hannah? Should I end things?"

"Well, did the two of you agree to have an exclusive relationship?" Lucifer asked.

"Not really, but...now I kind of want one," Christopher got out.

"If you want one and she doesn't, then that should answer the question." Ellie told him. "Shouldn't it?"

"Yeah," Christopher nodded. "I don't know how long it will take me to finally be able to bring up the subject, but it _will_ be brought up. Trust me."

"Good for you," Vincent told him. "Good for you."

"Thanks," Christopher replied. "I'm gonna need all the encouragement I can get."

* * *

"I enjoyed the dinner with Christopher the other night," Klaus chuckled as he remembered it. "Did you, Sybil?"

"It was a bit of a shock at first, but...at least he's making friends," Sybil shrugged.

"How else is he doing?" Elijah asked. "Being more accustomed to being with people? More civilized?"

"I don't think he's all the way there yet, but he's getting better," Sybil remarked. "You can't deny that. Hannah's having a good effect on him."

"Of course she is," Klaus nodded. "I'm very proud of him."

"You would be," Sybil remarked dryly but leaned against him anyway.

"Sorry it took so long," Amy apologized when she came into the living room with Lisa in her arms. "She was less enthusiastic about eating than we thought."

"But she's had her bottle?" Elijah asked, taking their daughter from Amy. "Or would you like me to give it a try?"

"No," Amy shook her head. "I got it under control."

"Can I hold her?" Klaus asked. "Or do you think it wouldn't be a good idea?"

"Oh, it'll be fine," Amy said to him. She put him in Klaus' lap and smiled as her daughter relaxed and seemed pleased to be with her uncle.

"Now that I know she and Klaus get along," Amy said to Sybil, "Would you mind watching her some night so that Elijah and I can go out?"

"Of course!" Sybil nodded. "How long has it been since you've had a night to yourselves?"

"They're few and far between," Elijah replied as he ran his fingers through Amy's hair. "And I really wouldn't mind another one."

"All right," Sybil nodded. "When would you like to do it?"

"Friday and Saturday would be ideal," Amy said. "But that's probably when the two of you have your date night too, right?"

"Actually, we mostly just hang around here trying to think of something to do with ourselves now that we don't have Christopher here, so watching Lisa would be a nice change of pace for us," Sybil told him. It would certainly be a nice change for _her_ anyway. She didn't want to mention it to Klaus, but their current routine was starting to get downright boring, and this was just the thing that was needed to shake things up. "So when do you want to do it? Friday or Saturday?"

"Saturday," Amy said decisively, then looked at Elijah. "What do you think?"

"Saturday works for me," Elijah nodded. "Sounds great!"

* * *

"We cannot thank you enough for agreeing to watch Lisa," Amy told Sybil for what seemed like the hundredth time after they came to drop her off. "We won't be out for too long, I promise."

"No, please take all the time you need," Sybil urged. "There's really nothing we need to be doing instead."

"Literally nothing?" Amy asked as Sybil took Lisa in her arms. "Why not? You're not having trouble, are you?"

"Well, no, but...it's just not as exciting as it used to be, you know?" Sybil replied. "Christopher's consumed everything. Not that I'm blaming him or don't love him, or anything like that, but we just...we spend so much time being on our guard so that he doesn't feel abandoned that it doesn't leave time for us."

"I'm sorry," Amy apologized.

"That's okay," Sybil sighed and then gave her a small smile. "It's not your fault. You and Elijah have a good night and a good dinner and be sure not to deprive yourselves of dessert!"

"We won't!" Amy assured her, then shook out her red hair and straightened her skirt before going to tell Elijah, who was chatting with Klaus, that Sybil had all of Lisa's things and she was ready to go.

"Wonderful," Elijah remarked with a grin as he put his empty drink glass down and followed her out the door. "Have a night night, Niklaus, Sybil! I'm sure Lisa will behave herself."

Once they were gone, Sybil took Lisa in to be with Klaus. "It's nice that we have something to do with ourselves tonight, isn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah," Klaus nodded. "You can watch Lisa and I'll wait by the phone in case Christopher calls and needs us for something."

"You know he won't," Sybil told him. "He's adjusted! He's fine! He's not gonna call! He _never_ has! We should start thinking of ways to occupy our time that don't involve him."

"And you just know that the second we do that is when he's gonna call," Klaus countered. "Isn't that what always happens? Then he's gonna feel abandoned and angry and we'll have to hear about it. I'd rather not go through that!"

Lisa then began fussing and reaching for Klaus with her tiny hands. "There," Sybil told him, trying hard to keep the irritation out of her voice, but failing. "You take Lisa. She wants you. Then you'll see that you can keep your mind on someone else besides Christopher for an evening and things will be just fine."

She strode out of the room and Klaus tickled Lisa under the chin. "Looks like Aunt Sybil is in a very bad mood tonight so you'll just be with me. I hope that's okay."

Lisa just smiled and snuggled against him and he grinned and ran his hand down her back, wondering as he went to get her a toy to play with just how a little girl who spent most of her time with two of the most serious people in the world would like being with him so much. Then, he stopped and thought it over again. Maybe he'd just answered his own question. Yes, he definitely had.


	46. Demon Love Connection

"Okay, so you want me to run to the grocery store, get you another two six packs of beer, pick up your suit from the dry cleaner's, get your car washed...anything else?"

"Not that I can think of," Lucifer shrugged. "That's good for now, but if I think of anything else while you're out, I'll let you know."

There was a knock at the door and Dexter dove under the desk as Valerie made her way into the room. "Hi, Daddy!" She waved. "Have you seen Dexter? He wasn't at breakfast or anything and I want to talk to him."

Lucifer looked down under the desk at Dexter, who was shaking his head and mouthing, "Don't tell her! Don't tell her!"

"Is your need for him urgent?" Lucifer asked. "Because I have lots of errands for him to do and he won't have much time to do anything else."

It was then that Dexter popped up from under the desk. "I think I found one cuff link," he said. "But I still have to look for the other."

He didn't look at Valerie.

"Do you have anything Dexter can pick up at the grocery store for you?" Lucifer asked.

"No, don't be silly!" Valerie said and came closer to him. "I can go with him!"

"No!" Dexter cried. "My car is too small. There's not enough room. Bye!" He turned his face away from them so they couldn't see him blushing and ran out of the room, leaving Valerie and Lucifer to stare at one another, dumbfounded.

"What do you think that was about?" Valerie asked her father. "He's never acted like that before."

"I don't know," Lucifer shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. First he's snippy at breakfast and now he's just running away for no reason." He paused. "Did you two have some sort of fight?"

"No!" Valerie chuckled awkwardly. "What would make you say that? Cause it's absolutely not true!"

To change the subject, she walked over to a prominently displayed Wanted poster by his desk. "Who's that?" She wanted to know. The young man featured had an impish grin on his face and wicked dark eyes, along with a spray of dark hair. "Another sibling?"

"No!" Lucifer shook his head. "Why is it that every young person you see you think that they're another sibling of yours?"

"Well, let's face it, Daddy," Valerie said. "You've been around a long time, and you're not exactly a monk, are you?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "Not really. But through methods that I don't want to tell you, I made sure that I had no children until I was absolutely ready for it, meaning that you and your brother are the first ones."

"Ah," Valerie nodded. "All right. So who's that then?" She pointed at the poster.

"He's a criminal the magical world has been trying to contain for years. They've tried everything: Jail and several prison dimensions, and he's always escaped. So we all got together and finally decided that the best thing to do is to get him to hell. He won't be able to escape from there."

"But you can't just take a person to hell, can you?" Valerie questioned. "What would you bring him in for?"

"I've heard he's awfully gluttonous," Lucifer replied. "And I'm sure there are other things I could lock him up for if he's as bad as they say. I just have to catch him."

"So go and do it," Valerie said. "Why don't you have him yet?"

"Because I have some talking to do with your mother first," Lucifer replied. "He's her grandfather's nephew, you know. So it might be easier to convince him to come if she does it and not me."

"And you really think Mom will do that for you?" Valerie asked.

"Well, I don't know!" Lucifer told her. "That's the issue, isn't?"

"Good luck with that," Valerie told him. "I hope it all works out for you."

"Me too," Lucifer agreed. "Would you do me a favor and see what's going on with Dexter? I know you're concerned just like I am and he might be too embarrassed to tell me the truth."

"Well, with what we saw, he might be too embarrassed to tell me too," Valerie said. "But sure, I'll give it a shot."

* * *

However, getting information out of Dexter turned out to be very difficult, even for Valerie. Every time he saw her coming, he would run the other way, or come up with some excuse that would prevent them from being in the same room. It got to the point where she began to think that having her dad talk to him would be easier after all.

Finally though, one day, just he was coming out of the bathroom, she caught him, grabbing his arm and holding him fast. "Please don't run away," she told him. "I just want to talk to you. What's going on? How come you don't want to be in the same room as me anymore? Is it because of what I did with those guys? Is it? Please tell me!"

He wretched his arm out of her grip, his mouth becoming a thin line. "I don't have time to talk now," he said in a cold voice. "I don't have time to talk, or for whatever little game you've come up with. I've gotta go. Your dad will be wondering where I am."

"So you _are_ mad at me!" Valerie cried as he walked away. "Well, you could have just said it instead of avoiding me like a coward."

That did it. He froze, turned on his heel, and strode back to her. "Why would I be mad at you?" He asked. "You're nothing to me. You're just my boss' daughter. That's it. I know you would like to think that your whorish display the other day had some sort of effect on me because it makes you feel powerful or whatever, but it doesn't. I couldn't care less how many people you have in your bed. They'll be singing your praises down in hell for everyone you've brought in. But I don't find whore types attractive. If you're trying to get my attention, that's not the way to do it." He cleared his throat and tried to look away as Valerie's eyes began to fill with tears. "My life doesn't revolve around you," he continued. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go see the one person in this house I _do_ have to listen to. Goodbye." He left Valerie alone in the hallway as she tried to hold back tears and when she couldn't do it anymore, she zapped herself to her room, locked the door, and sobbed into her pillow.

* * *

After he'd had some time to calm down and think it over, Dexter felt terrible for how he'd treated Valerie. He hadn't meant to be so harsh, and despite trying to ignore it, he'd seen how she'd been trying hard not to cry as he'd spat all that venom at her. He had no idea that it would hurt her so badly. He made his way to her room. The door was closed and he could hear loud sobbing inside.

"Valerie?" He called. "Can I come in? I think we need to talk." He got no response, but let himself in anyway and made his way to the bed, sitting down next to her. "I'm sorry for what I said," he told her and put a hand on her arm to gently pull her up to sit. "I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did!" Valerie nodded. "I _am_ a whore! You're right!"

"No, no!" He said and pushed her hair out of her eyes, removing his shirt and handing it to her. "Use that to blow your nose with. I don't like seeing your pretty eyes all red."

"Oh, stop," she said, but gave him a small smile and blew her nose on his shirt. Then she began running her hand lightly over his abs.

"I-I didn't mean what I said to you," he said. "You're not a whore. I was just upset." He kissed her hair and then put a hand under her chin and kissed both her cheeks and lips. "People say lots of things they don't mean when they're upset."

"I hope you mean this," Valerie said as his lips moved close to hers and then he kissed her deeply.

The kiss warmed her from her lips to her toes. Her arms went around him, and then just after that, he stopped the kiss and put both her arms over her head.

"What are you doing?" She asked. "If this is some weird new position you wanna try, I'm all for it!"

"Just the opposite, as a matter of fact," he told her. "I'm doing what I can to stop myself from taking this craziness any further. It's wrong! Really, _really_ wrong!"

"Why is it wrong?" Valerie questioned. "It really isn't!"

He didn't answer, lapsing into that stubborn silence again that just drove her crazy. Even though she no longer had the use of her arms or hands, he didn't try and stop her as she scooted closer to him and draped her legs across his lap, then rubbed up against him in a way that was awkward, but still brought up feelings in Dexter.

Growling, he kissed her again as his hands roamed all over her body, stopping for an extended period of time to cup her breasts and run over her bare legs before he finally came back to himself and shook his finger in her face. "I'm stopping this now," he said firmly. "Don't take it personally, but I need to get away from you!" He let her hands go and she fell backwards onto the mattress, and while she worked on sitting up again, that's when he made his exit, slamming the door shut behind him.

He thought he was safe and wouldn't have to think about that anymore, but just as he caught his breath, Christopher walked by. He noticed that they were both right outside Valerie's bedroom and said, "I know it's none of my business, but...were you...? You and Valerie? Really?"

"Shhh!" Dexter made wild shushing motions with his hands and pulled Christopher after him, not stopping until they were in one of the most secluded spots in the whole mansion. Then he spoke again. "You can't say anything to anyone about me and Valerie. I mean, we didn't pass the point of no return or anything, but...but it was just a mistake, and..."

"Hey, you don't need to explain further," Christopher interrupted. "I wouldn't have said anything anyway."

"I just don't understand how this could have happened!" Dexter muttered as he began pacing restlessly.

"I think I have a good idea," Christopher replied. "You're a male demon and she's a...well, she's not a demon, but she's a woman anyway. Put two and two together and...there you go."

"But you don't understand!" Dexter told him. "I specifically made a deal with Lucifer so that I would never feel these sorts of feelings for anyone. No desire, no nothing! I thought that would make it easier to focus on work, you know? And so far, it's worked. Between that and the fact that when I'm in my demon form, I look like Quasimodo, those sorts of feelings haven't popped up about anyone, and I was fine with that. But now I don't know what the hell's going on with me. If I hadn't had the strength to stop myself with Valerie, I don't even want to think about the consequences of what would have happened!"

"You want a drink, man?" Christopher asked, putting a sympathetic hand on Dexter's shoulder since he looked scarred for life. "In situations like this, a good, stiff drink solves everything."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Dexter nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

Meanwhile, Dexter and his love life, or lack thereof, was a subject of conversation in other parts of the house too. It had taken a little bit more time for Ellie to get over her residual irritation toward Lucifer about what had happened with Valerie, but after he'd gotten down on his knees and begged her forgiveness (and he hadn't even hesitated...that had really surprised her), she'd finally been able to let it all go and now they were carrying on as normal, even though he'd taken the whole day off of work, thinking it would take that long to get on her good side again.

"Tell me something about Dexter," she said. "How come he never has any, you know, girlfriends or boyfriends or whatever? Did you make it so that anyone that worked for you wasn't allowed to have a life outside of their job?"

"No!" Lucifer shook his head. "Maeve's had relationships and I'm sure the others have too, but Dexter...he's always been more about work, the poor guy. He even asked me to make sure he was incapable of any sexual desire so that he wouldn't be distracted from his job."

"He did?" Ellie asked in amazement. "Really? And did you do what he asked?"

"I thought it was a waste, so not exactly." Lucifer shook his head. "I said some words and waved my hands around. Then I told him I'd done what he asked, but I really didn't."

"And he believed you?" Ellie asked. "Wow."

"Well, he wanted to, Eleanor," Lucifer shrugged. "And the mind is a very powerful thing, Eleanor. "He wanted to believe that I did what he wanted, and as far as I know, he has. He does." He paused. "Is that still wrong? Am I going to have to hear that I've done wrong again?"

"Well, it's technically a lie," Ellie said. "But if it's not about our children or myself, I'm not gonna nag you about it. Not when it doesn't seem to have done him any real harm."

"Exactly!" Lucifer nodded with a grin. "It hasn't hurt him. And it probably never will. I mean, he's so determined not to have feelings for anyone. He's missing out, but if that's what he wants...or at least wants to _think,_ far be it from me to stand in his way."

* * *

"Can I ask why we never do anything fun anymore?" Sybil demanded of Klaus. "All we do is focus on Christopher!"

"We talked about this already!" Klaus cried. "You know where I stand. I don't think I can change my thoughts on that. Not yet."

"You know, I thought you would say that," Sybil sighed. "And I...I'm sorry. But I can't do this anymore."

"Can't do what?" Klaus asked.

"I can't live in a house where Christopher is more important to you than I am!" Sybil cried. "Don't you care about _us_ at all?"

"Of course I do," Klaus tried to assure her. "But-"

"But what?" Sybil cried. "There's no 'but' here. You've made a choice. You've chosen Christopher over me. I think it would be doing both of us a favor if I left."

"Fine," Klaus said. "Let me help you pack!" He began ripping clothes out of the closet and threw them on the floor. "Take them and put them in a bag, and then get out and go spend the night with your dad. You'll be happier there anyway!"

"Fine," Sybil shouted and began stuffing things into a suitcase. "I will!" She then grabbed the suitcase and made her way to the door and when she had her hand on the doorknob, Klaus picked her up and pulled her away to carry her back to his room.

"I said I wanted to go," she whispered as she looked into his eyes. "Why don't you listen?"

"Cause I don't want you to go," he said. "I know things haven't been the best around here. I'm sorry you feel neglected and I'll try to do better." He began nibbling on her neck. "Please?" He asked. "Please? Please?"

"Oh, all right," Sybil said. "But only cause your cute and your lips feel good on my neck. But you better start paying attention to me."

"Of course," Klaus nodded. "I just...I just need to make one last phone call to Christopher and then it'll be us, I promise."

"All right," Sybil nodded and watched him call their son.

"Christopher," he said. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Christopher replied. "How are you and Mom? Good?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Thank you. Your aunt and uncle visited the other day with your cousin Lisa and they were very glad to hear how well you're progressing."

"That's great," Christopher replied. "Next time they come over, will you tell me so that I can be there when they come?"

"Sure," Klaus nodded. "No problem." He paused and cleared his throat. "Now that you seem to be adjusting better, will you be needing to call home as often? I know you haven't been doing it lately and that's fine...don't get me wrong. But I want to make sure that we're available for you the right amount."

"Thanks, but...I made a friend!" Christopher told him. "Lucifer's son, Vincent. And Ellie's sister Hannah and I have this kind of weird thing going on, as you know. Everyone in the house is beginning to get used to me so...you and Mom can start looking for stuff to do for yourselves without guilt or anything like that. I insist."

"All right, thank you," Klaus told him. "Your mother especially will be very happy to hear that."

"Good," Christopher replied. "Bye!"

The call ended and Klaus told Sybil, "He sounds all right. We're good."

"Wonderful!" Sybil threw her arms around his neck. "Now, where were we?"

Klaus grinned. "Right about...here." He kissed her and they both fell back onto the mattress, tearing off each other's clothes and falling back onto the mattress as he slipped inside her over and over while he ran his fingers through her tangled blonde hair and she made deep scratches in his back with her nails.

He sucked in a breath, the pain making him show his werewolf eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said, light in her eyes. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," Klaus shook his head. "But I hope you don't mind if I make you bleed too."

"Oh, go ahead," Sybil grinned. "I wouldn't mind at all!" Then she laughed as he bit her and had to hold on tight to him as she climaxed so she wouldn't fall off the bed.

* * *

"I feel almost scared to ask you this question," Christopher said when he finally got the courage to talk to Maeve about her setting him up with a demon girl. "But do you know any girl demons who aren't seeing anyone?"

"Why?" Maeve asked, hopping off the kitchen counter where she'd been drinking vodka straight from the bottle. "Don't tell me you want me to set you up."

"Well, yeah," Christopher nodded. "Kind of. Me and Hannah aren't going so well."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Maeve told him. "I'm sure you'll find someone, but I'm not the sort to help with stuff like that."

"Why not?" Christopher asked.

"Because I don't want to," Maeve replied.

So Christopher called Lucifer at work to tattle.

"I'm sorry things aren't going well between you and Hannah," Lucifer remarked. "Still a problem?"

"Yes," Christopher sighed. "But Maeve won't set me up with anyone she knows. Could you tell her she has to?"

"Give her the phone," Lucifer told him. "I'll sort this out."

Christopher grinned broadly as he brought the phone into Maeve. "Your boss wants to talk to you," he said.

"Well, I wonder what about, you little weasel," Maeve hissed and took the phone, sure enough hearing Lucifer's command that she hand to find Christopher a new girlfriend or she would be in big trouble.

"Really?" She asked. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Do I _have_ to? I have more important things to do than finding Christopher a girlfriend!"

"Well, whatever it is, I can handle it," Lucifer told her. "This is what I want you to focus on right now, please!"

"Fine," Maeve sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. "I'll do it. Whatever!"

"Thank you, Maeve!" Lucifer told her. She stuck her tongue out at the phone and ended the call.

"Okay, let's talk about this," Christopher told her. "I want somebody who's totally different from Hannah. A blonde. Tall, curvy...green eyes, and maybe..."

"No, no," Maeve interrupted him. "You're not allowed to be that picky."

"Why not?" Christopher wanted to know.

"Because you're just not!" Maeve told him. "You didn't like it when Hannah avoided you at first because she thought you were ugly and weird. I'm not letting you do that with anyone else."

"She thought I was ugly and weird at first?" Christopher asked and raised an eyebrow. "No she didn't. And even if she did, she's _clearly_ changed her mind." He grinned smugly.

"I thought you hated her for that," Maeve replied, crossing her arms. "So do you want to stay with Hannah, or do you want me to find someone else for you? Make up your mind."

"I want you to find someone else for me, please," Christopher said firmly. "I'm just about at the end of my rope with Hannah."

"You say that now, but what about when she shows up tonight without anything on?" Maeve asked. "I bet you'll be singing a different tune then!"

"I will not!" Christopher cried firmly. "I really am done with her. I mean it this time!"

He seemed pretty insistent so Maeve began looking through her phone. Most of her friends weren't the steady relationship type and would definitely make Christopher look foolish, which would get her in trouble, so it took awhile to find a good potential match for him in her friend Alice. She had no idea why she hadn't thought of it before. Alice was perfect for him.

She was the opposite of Hannah in many ways and wasn't intimidating. She was actually really sweet. She'd been in an accident that had left her unable to maintain a human appearance for extended periods of time. She'd made progress but it was still possible for her to be stuck looking like a demon for any length of time when she least expected it, which made her self-conscious and unwilling to put herself out there. But since Christopher was the same way, maybe he could bring Alice out a little bit. It would be good for both of them.

She called Lucifer to tell him the good news and let him know she'd be away from the house for a few hours.

"Who did you pick for him?" Lucifer questioned. "No one too aggressive, I hope."

"No, my friend Alice," Maeve replied. "You remember her."

"The one who had the accident?" Lucifer asked. "That's Alice, right?"

"Yep," Maeve replied. "She's made a lot of progress and she's not bad looking when she's in her human form. Even when she's not, I think she'd be more self-conscious about it than Christopher would."

"That's very true," Lucifer agreed. "Thank you for actually taking time with this and not just throwing the first woman at him that you came across so you could have the job over and done with."

"You're welcome," Maeve grinned. "I aim to please. You know that." She then got in her car and went to see Alice, wondering just how she'd react to finding out she could very well soon have a social life again.

* * *

"Maeve, I'm so glad to see you!" Alice's sister, Iris said when she answered the door in response to Maeve's knock. "I know this is a lot to ask, but...I need to run to the store and Alice has locked herself in the bathroom again. She's sobbing like crazy and nothing I can say will get her to stop."

"Don't worry," Maeve assured her. "I think I have something that might do the trick. Go do your shopping. I'll handle things here."

"Thank you!" Iris said and hugged her. "You couldn't have shown up at a better time."

Iris was one of the few people allowed to hug Maeve and after she let her go, Maeve advanced into the house and groaned. Iris had certainly been right about Alice having another bad day. She could hear her weeping clearly from the entryway when her room was two floors up. "Enough of this," she sighed and ran up the stairs, following the sound of pitiful sobbing until she was standing outside the bathroom door that Alice was crying behind.

"Alice!" She called and pounded on the door. "You wanna come out here? I have good news for you!"

"No!" Alice sobbed. "I don't want you to look at me. Don't come in here, Maeve!"

"Have I ever listened when you've told me that?" Maeve asked. "You know I'm not gonna say anything bad. Just let me in, would you?" She had to wait a bit longer, but the door finally opened to reveal Alice, a blue demon whose face had been swollen from her accident, so much that her button nose was nearly hidden. She had a bad scar around one eye and a few more on her cheeks. When she saw Maeve, she blushed, making her blue demon skin turn an unflattering shade of purple.

"Hi," she said quietly. "I had another bad day."

"I know," Maeve told her. "Now can I come in there?"

"Sure," Alice nodded. "If you want to." She stepped aside and let Maeve in and then sat down on the toilet after putting the lid down. "So..." she got out, the swelling going down in her face for the first time in several hours as she began to calm down. "What good news do you have?"

"Well, you know how you don't usually go out with us on the weekends cause you don't have a date?" Maeve asked. "I might have found you one."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Alice sighed. Her human appearance restored, she was actually a very cute, fresh-faced woman. "We've tried this before, remember? And it never ends well."

"No, but this guy is different!" Maeve told her. "He's a demon-werewolf-vampire hybrid! And all those powers together don't exactly come out well for him. He's the first case of a demon woman having a child with a non-demon man. And his demon appearance isn't exactly pretty either. When he first moved in with us, he locked himself in his room for days and wouldn't let anyone see him."

"He did?" Alice asked. "So..if my face, you know...it wouldn't bother him?"

"Oh, it shouldn't!" Maeve replied. "He's only just started being around people, and especially women, so he's not overwhelming. In fact, he can be really nice when he wants to be. You wanna meet him?"

"All right," Alice decided. "But somewhere private. Not in public. I don't think I can handle that. Not yet."

"No problem," Maeve assured her. "You can have dinner on the roof at my house. Totally private _and_ a nice view of the moon."

"Does he know we're doing this?" Alice asked. "Can I meet him before the date?"

"Sure," Maeve nodded. "You might want to shower and dress first, though."

"Right," Alice nodded, looking down at her raggedy tan bathrobe. "This is no good."

While Alice showered, Maeve picked out some clothes for her to wear and once she was dressed, they left a note for Iris and headed to see Christopher.

"Are you positive he'll like me?" Alice asked as they made their way into the house.

"Of course he will!" Maeve assured her. "If he doesn't, he's an idiot."

Despite this reassurance, once she knew Christopher was coming, Alice's nerves got the best of her, and when Christopher arrived, he saw her demon face, not her human face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said and started to run away while attempting to obscure her features. But Christopher put a hand on her shoulder. "No," he told her. "Stay. Turn around. Look at me."

And when Alice turned around, she saw him, a blue one just like her, also covered in scars and hair, with horns poking up out of his head.

"Well, I'll just leave the two of you alone," Maeve said. "Let you get acquainted. That's okay, right?"

"Yeah," Alice smiled as Christopher kissed her hand and introduced himself. "I think we'll be all right."


	47. A One Way Ticket To Hell

"Here you are!" Hannah said as she made her way up to the roof. She usually didn't see Christopher unless it was night time, but after a few days of not seeing him at all (cause he'd moved to another bedroom whose location she didn't know and just had to give up and go back to her own bed) she'd decided to come look for him while they were both awake. "I haven't seen you for days! I've missed you!" Then she saw the two places set out for lunch and sat down with a smile. "You know, this is absolutely perfect! I'm so hungry! Are we going to go straight to your bedroom after?"

"No!" Christopher snapped and snatched the plate away. "This isn't for you. I'm having lunch with someone else."

"Oh, your parents are visiting?" Hannah grinned and got up. "Where are they? I want to go say 'Hello'."

A few minutes later, a panting Alice made her way through the door that led up to the roof. "Sorry it took me so long to get back," she apologized. "I hope my lunch isn't cold." She strode up to Hannah and tried to keep her cool. "Who are you?" She asked. "Why are you in my seat?"

It must've worked cause she maintained her human appearance and Hannah scowled. "Who are you?" She turned to Christopher. "Who the hell is this?"

"That's Alice," Christopher told her. "I've decided that I'm not just gonna be your booty call boy anymore and chose to move on. You really should too. It's a good thing."

It was then that Hannah let out a growl, knocked the table over, and luckily for Alice, strode out before Hannah could see her face change.

"Sorry," Christopher apologized, using his magic to right the table. "I knew she wouldn't take that well." He put his arms around Alice. "Are you all right?" He asked. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, but considering how mad she looked, I thought I was gonna be," Alice got out. "Who _is_ that?"

"We were friends with benefits for a while, but I'm starting to think of moving on from the relationship," Christopher told her.

"I think that's a good idea," Alice said as she stepped out of his arms. "She seems crazy!"

"No, I don't think she's crazy," Christopher shook his head. "I think she's just a bit of a sore loser is all. Now, do you want to keep eating or just say lunch is a lost cause and do something else?"

"We should keep eating," Alice decided. "No need to let her scare us."

Christopher smiled. It seemed she was a lot tougher than she gave herself credit for. "That's what I hoped you'd say," he said. He zapped up a new round of food and they went back to eating as if Hannah had never showed up at all.

* * *

"Who's that girl Christopher's eating with on the roof?" Hannah demanded. "He's never eaten with _me_ on the roof! This isn't fair! I am his _girlfriend!"_

"Since when?" Ellie asked. "As far as I know, all you two have done is have sex. That does not automatically make you his girlfriend."

"That's not _all_ we've done!" Hannah reminded her. "I met his parents once!"

"Okay, that's true," Ellie nodded. "Good point. But apparently, he doesn't feel like he's getting what he deserves out of the relationship, so if you want to maintain it, you're gonna have to start doing some work beyond sneaking into his room at night and sleeping with him."

"Like what, though?" Hannah cried in frustration. "How am I supposed to do other stuff with him if I don't know what other stuff to _do_?"

"He's probably told you," Ellie said. "You just didn't listen. Like, for instance...has he ever been home to meet Mom and Josh?"

"Well, no," Hannah shook her head. "But it's not because I don't _want_ to bring him. It's just...I don't want Dad to burst a blood vessel. He's only just coming around to the idea of you and Lucifer. What if he has issues with me and Christopher too?"

"And what if he doesn't?" Ellie pointed out. "Christopher is a demon just like him. And a nice one, at that. I think you should at least give it a shot. It'll show trust."

"What's the point now since Christopher's with another girl?" Hannah questioned. "I've lost my chance!" She buried her head in her arms in a dramatic fashion. "I've lost my chance!"

"There you go assuming again," Ellie said. " _Talk_ to Christopher. Tell him that you want to take him to see Mom and Josh. It might do more for you than you know."

"Okay," Hannah sighed. "I don't know if it'll do any good, but I'll give it a shot." She waited impatiently until Alice left and then went to Christopher's room.

"We're not having sex," he said immediately when he saw her. "That's not gonna happen."

"That's not what I came in for," she told him. "I wanted...I wanted to ask if you would come to my house and meet my parents."

"When I suggested we do that before, you said 'No'." Christopher reminded her. "Why the change of heart now?"

"Cause Ellie helped me see that I was being unreasonable," Hannah told him. "So will you do it?"

"You know, if you would have asked me a little while ago, I would have said 'Yes' immediately," Christopher replied. "But I sense that the only reason why you're bringing it up now is because you saw me with Alice, you're jealous, and this is a ploy to get me back. So I don't think I do want to meet your parents. At least not for those reasons. If Ellie goes and visits them, I might just tag along. It'll accomplish the same thing." He shrugged.

"Yeah, but what about _me_?" Hannah asked.

"What _about_ you?" Christopher replied. "If all you want in a relationship is sex, you can go find someone else. You're pretty. It won't be hard."

"Yes, but I don't _want_ anyone else!" Hannah told him. "That's the problem!"

"I didn't want anyone else either!" Christopher yelled and began striding toward her, getting closer and closer until she felt her legs hit the wall. "I wanted a _real_ relationship with you. I wanted to go on dates and talk about life and get to know your family. But you didn't want to give me that! All you wanted was to have sex! It hurt, but I moved on. I found something closer to what I need with Alice."

"So does that mean you and I are over?" Hannah asked. "Cause just looking at her, I know all you're gonna get is companionship and that's it. It might be nice now, but you're gonna get bored after a while. And when you do, you know my number." She gave him a quick peck, turned on her heel, and left the room.

"No!" Christopher ran after her. "You are _not_ allowed to have the last word! When I call you, you better be ready to introduce me to your parents and take me to the movies and stuff. That's the only way you and I will ever be a thing again! Think about that!"

"All right," Hannah told him as she turned to face him one last time before striding out of the house. "You have a point. Maybe I will."

* * *

"All right," Lucifer said, moving his hands from Ellie's bottom for a moment so he could look into her eyes. "I have something to ask you while you're here." They were making out over his lunch break but he couldn't forget about that favor he needed from her.

"You promised me that I wouldn't have to get naked in your office," Ellie reminded him and kissed his neck. "I'll get naked tonight, though. I promise."

"Oh, that's very reassuring, but...that's not what I'm talking about. It's much more serious in nature," Lucifer informed her.

"Really?" Ellie asked. "I'm straddling you and we're making out in your office chair and you can talk about something serious? Wow, I must be failing somewhere." She giggled and ruffled his hair. "I'm just kidding," she assured him. "What do you need?"

He turned the spinny chair around so she could get a good view of the picture of Kai that hung on his office wall.

"What are you doing with a picture of my grandfather's nephew on your wall?" She asked. "I mean, I can guess cause I've heard unpleasant things about him, but..."

"The magical government has wanted me to make room for him in hell for a long time, but we've never been able to catch him," Lucifer explained. "You don't suppose you could go speak to your grandfather and get him to get his nephew to surrender, could you?"

"I could try, but I don't think it'll be that easy," Ellie told him. "I haven't seen Grandpa Malachai much in my life and _especially_ not since I moved in with you. He might not even like me."

"Take your mother then, please," he suggested and pushed some loose hair out of her eyes. "I would be in your debt forever."

"Well, of course you would be," Ellie grinned. "I don't know how I feel about just handing this guy over to you, regardless of what the witch government thinks, but...I'll talk to everyone at least. It's a start."

"Thank you," Lucifer told her with a smile. "You're the best! I love you."

"Damn right I am!" Ellie replied and went right back to kissing him. "I love you too."

* * *

After she left Lucifer's office, Ellie made a quick run home to make sure everyone was okay and everything was still standing and when she was assured of that, she drove to her parents', where Josh answered the door.

"Hi!" He said, hugging her and bringing her inside. "It's so nice for you to come visit! What's the occasion?"

"I need to see Mom," she said, but hugged him tighter. "Is she home?"

"Not at the moment, but her exercise class is nearly over," Josh replied. "It won't be too long to wait if you have the time."

"Thanks," Ellie replied. "I need to talk to Grandpa Malachai and I thought that might be easier if she came with me, cause what with me and Lucifer being a thing and all, I'm not sure how welcome I am in his house."

"Oh, I'm sure he wouldn't hold it against you," Josh assured her.

"I don't know about that," Ellie sighed. "I just want to cover all my bases."

Josh was correct when he said it wouldn't take long for Sarah to get back. After she'd washed and dressed, they got in her car and made their way to Malachai's.

"What do you need to see him for?" Sarah asked. "Or is it none of my business?"

"Well, for one, I've been meaning to stop by and apologize for whatever happened to him during Lucifer's bachelor party, cause from what I saw, it wasn't good. And second...Lucifer needs his help with something."

"Lucifer needs Dad's help?" Sarah chuckled. "Start with that. He'll be laughing so hard that he won't even remember to be angry with you. What could he possibly need Dad's help with?"

"Something that I'm sure won't end well and I made that clear when Lucifer told me about his scheme in the first place," Ellie said. "He wants me to convince Grandpa to give Kai up so he can send him to hell where he belongs."

"Oh, yeah," Sarah nodded. "I can't see that particular request going well at all. Dad's very protective of Kai since his mother treated him so badly. She _is_ in hell, I know that."'

"Well, I'm not saying he'll go immediately," Ellie said. "I just...I just want to start a dialogue."

"I know, sweetie," Sarah told her. "I know you mean well. We'll see what happens. It'll be all right."

* * *

"Hi, Sarah!" Malachai hugged her and gestured for her to come into the house. Then he turned a dark, suspicious gaze on Ellie. "And...you. Why are you here?"

"Dad, be nice!" Sarah warned.

"I know she didn't just come to visit!" Malachai replied. "She's up to something, and I want to know what it is!"

"Well, let me in and I'll tell you!" Ellie replied through gritted teeth. "Please."

"Fine," Malachai sighed, letting her into the house, although even the front steps were too good for her. "Come in." Then, once they were sitting down, he said, "All right, what does _he_ want? Go ahead and spit it out."

"It's about Kai," she said. "He wants you to convince Kai to surrender and go to hell where he belongs."

"No, I am _not_ going to do that!" Malachai proclaimed. "I know Kai did a lot wrong in the past. I'm not disputing that. But now he has a wife and a family and he's been doing a very good job of keeping his nose clean. He's not a danger. So why open old wounds?"

"Cause he never paid his debt to society!" Ellie cried. "If he had just stayed in jail for whatever amount of time he was assigned, we wouldn't be having this problem. But he always escaped and to just let that fact go isn't fair."

"Perhaps," Malachai replied. "But do you think that it's fair to condemn him to hell forever? He's had a very hard life, you know."

"That's unfortunate, but it doesn't excuse his bad behavior," Ellie said firmly. "Get him over here and we can talk about this."

"What's to talk about?" Malachai asked. "Aren't the only options Kai going to hell or Kai not going to hell?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "You forget how much influence I have on Lucifer. I can fight for middle ground so that everyone gets what they want. And I will. I've never particularly been a fan of the all or nothing way things go down in hell."

"Please, Dad?" Sarah asked. "She's not gonna send him away _now_. All we want to do is talk to him. That's it."

There was still some fight left in Malachai, but he had enough trust in his daughter that he finally caved. "All right," he said. "You can talk to him, but you better be right about that being all it is." Then he eyed Ellie. "You were very clever to bring your mother with you. _Very_ clever."

He then got up to call Kai and Ellie yelled after him, "Oh, and I'm sorry for what Lucifer did to you at his bachelor party! I promise it won't happen again!"

Malachai scoffed at this and then called Kai's number.

* * *

It was soon after that that Malachai and his wife Helene, Kai and his wife Victoria, and Ellie and Sarah sat around a table to talk.

"So the Council has _literally_ been conspiring with the devil to send me to hell all these years?" Kai asked, looking oddly flattered. "Wow."

"Well, you kept escaping from confinement," Helene told him. "Mom and James didn't know what else to do." She'd heard many stories from both her mother and her mother's chief law enforcement officer about how troublesome Kai had been and how she just wished there was a place to put him where he wouldn't escape.

"And hell was their best option?" Victoria asked as she clutched Kai's hand. "Was he really as bad as all that? He deserves some sort of punishment, I agree. But not forever. Please, not forever."

Kai looked at Ellie as he pulled a candy bar out of his pocket and tore open the wrapper. "What do they do with people who eat a lot in hell?" He asked after taking a bite. "Do they take all the food away? Would I never eat again?"

"No, actually, they make you stuff your face until you puke and then you start all over again," Ellie told him. "I've seen it. It's not pretty."

"Well, I didn't think so," Kai told her. Then he looked at Helene. "Was the plan to keep me in hell forever?"

"No," Helene shook her head. "We were gonna pull you out after a century or so."

"See, Daddy?" Sarah put a hand on Malachai's. "He wouldn't be there forever. You'd see him again eventually."

Malachai sighed. "I suppose that gives me _a little_ comfort. Not much, but a little."

"So I'm gonna be stuck in with all the gluttons for a century," Kai said to Ellie. "Is that it?"

"Well, he did say that gluttony could be the excuse he'd use to bring you in, but honestly, I have no idea what the actual plan is for your punishment. It could be something entirely different," Ellie responded with a shrug.

"Yeah," Kai said dryly. "He might stick me in a room with my mother for a hundred years. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Oh, even _that_ would be too harsh," Victoria replied, her dark eyes showing a little worry. "He wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, I think I would rather puke for eternity," Kai nodded.

"Like I said, I don't know exactly what Lucifer has in store for you, but I can talk to him about it so that it's not that bad. Have you really improved as much as your uncle claims?" Ellie asked.

"Well, I've slipped up a little, but I've really tried to be good." Kai eyed his wife and put his head on her shoulder. "Haven't I, Vicky?"

"Yes," Victoria nodded. "I would say you have."

"All right," Ellie nodded. "I'll take all that into consideration, let Lucifer know, and then we'll figure out your punishment accordingly."

"Do you..do you work for him now?" Kai asked. "And when did you get so big? I thought you were a little kid?"

"I was," Ellie nodded. "But he made me bigger."

"She and Lucifer are married now," Malachai told Kai.

"Ah," Kai nodded. "Okay, that explains it.'

"I'll make sure nothing too bad happens to you," Ellie promised. "I swear."

"You better," Malachai told her. "He deserves that."

"And if she gets him a good deal, will you trust her and start treating her as well as you treat me and not like a disgrace?" Sarah asked. "That seems fair, don't you think?"

"Fine," Malachai conceded. "If she stays true to her word and gets Kai a fair deal, I will..I will revise my opinion of her and be...less _harsh_ than I have been." He looked at Helene. "Do you think I'm being unreasonable?" He asked her.

"Well, I understand why you're angry," Helene said. "But yeah. Since Ellie hasn't actually _done_ anything wrong, lighten up a bit. And besides, it's always good to have a friend behind enemy lines, right?"

"Yeah," Malachai nodded. "I guess it is." He gave Ellie a small smile. "Thanks for all you're doing," he told her.

"You're welcome, Grandpa," Ellie got out, and then went home to talk with Lucifer and figure out Kai's punishment.

* * *

"There's nothing to discuss," he told her after she explained what happened at the meeting. "I know exactly what I'm doing with him. Thank you for getting him open to the idea of giving himself up, though."

"But what _are_ you going to do with him?" Ellie asked. "I have to know. I promised Grandpa that it wouldn't be anything too horrible."

"It's not," Lucifer assured her. "He's going to be working for _us_. It's been awhile since I've had a butler. It'll be easy to keep an eye on him that way."

"That's all?" Ellie asked, genuinely shocked. "That's it? You're not gonna like, make him hang out with his mother or the gluttons or something?"

" _No one_ should have to spend any time with his mother," Lucifer told her. "And the fact that he survived so long in her care just shows how tough he is. I appreciate someone who can persevere through negligent parenting and come out okay."

"Well, he didn't exactly come out _okay_ ," Ellie pointed out. "He stole magic and became a mass murderer."

"Yes, but he hasn't done that for a while now," Lucifer reminded her. "That's why _he_ gets something of a break, and we get a butler. Are you supposed to call your grandfather and tell him that or something?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded and gave him a hug. "And I'm sure that, all things considering, he'll be very pleased."

"And he better start being nice to you too," Lucifer added, eyes red. "Otherwise, he's gonna hear about it."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Ellie assured him. "Grandpa promised that if Kai's punishment was fair, he would start being nice to me. That came out of his own mouth. You can even ask my mom if you want proof."

"No, I believe you," Lucifer told her. "And that pleases me."

* * *

After making sure he was alone in the bathroom, Dexter undressed, turned the water for the shower on, and stepped inside, lathering shampoo in his hair as he hummed to himself.

It was as he was rinsing the shampoo out of his hair that he heard the voice. "You're in here washing your hair? I could help you do something much more fun!"

He opened his eyes and gave a violent start, nearly slipping until Valerie grabbed his arm to hold him steady. "What are you doing in my shower?"

"I _had_ to come," she said, reaching out to play with his wet hair. "You're just _terrible_ about issuing invitations, aren't you? Showering alone is no fun." She paused. "Unless you were planning on masturbating to an image of my face. Then I'm sorry for interrupting."

"I was _not_!" Dexter shook his head as water poured over both of them and he tried to stop his eyes from wandering to places on Valerie where they shouldn't go. "I was washing my hair and my body, just like any normal person does in the shower. Then I was going to get out."

"That's _boring_!" Valerie told him. "Wouldn't you rather have fun instead?"

"I...I don't know," Dexter said, backing up against the shower wall as Valerie took a few steps forward, threw her arms around him, and nibbled on his ear.

"What about now?" She asked.

"Okay," he blurted. "Maybe just a little."

They made out for a bit and then Dexter fell back on old fears. "No," he pulled away and tried to reach for the shower door handle. "We can't do this! I need to get out of here!" Then he paused. "Why am I leaving? This was _my_ damn shower to begin with. _You_ leave!" He tried to give Valerie a fierce look, but he was just so adorable wet that she couldn't do anything but laugh, grab his face, and kiss him.

"All right," she whispered in his ear. "I'll go if you'd rather pleasure yourself alone."

Dexter shook his head. "I shouldn't be able to do that. I shouldn't be able to feel _anything_ , not even when I'm looking at you..."

"Why not?" Valerie asked. "You obviously think I'm pretty. And when we were making out the other day, I felt that you were excited, so I don't even get what you're saying."

"It's because of the spell," he said.

"What spell?" Valerie asked.

"Never mind," Dexter backtracked. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Fine," Valerie whispered in his ear. "Let's not talk then. Why don't you close your eyes?"

"Why?" Dexter whispered back. "What will happen when I do?"

"Will you just trust me?" Valerie asked.

So he did, and she took his hand and slid it all over her body: shoulders, neck, stomach, breasts and bottom, lingering in the last two places as moans escaped her lips, even though he was just touching her lightly.

He was panting loudly now. "Stop," he breathed. "You don't know what you're doing! Why are you _doing_ this to me?"

"I just...I'm not trying to hurt you," she told him. "I want you to know what it feels like to be close to another person. To feel the warmth and softness of another body. That's all. It's not so bad, is it? Do you really want me to stop? There's just a little more left."

"What's left?" Dexter asked, even though he knew. "Let me know what's next." He then opened his eyes as she slipped his hand between her legs and began rubbing it gently, soft moans escaping her lips again. "Dexter," she whispered. "This is good, but...do it harder, please!"

He grinned in spite of himself. He liked hearing his name coming from her lips like that. "Okay," he whispered and kissed her as he rubbed her harder. "How's that?" He asked. "I don't know if I'm good at this."

"Well, you could have fooled me!" Valerie replied and then reached out and touched him too. His eyes closed in response to it. It felt good. So good. So _right._

"Oh, hell!" He whispered as he felt himself climax. He grabbed her tightly, kissing her roughly once more just as she climaxed herself. Then they stood, holding onto each other and trying to catch a breath.

"So," she said when she was able to talk again, "that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No," Dexter grinned. "I'm not proud of myself, though."

"You should be," Valerie said. "You did wonderfully."

"Just do me one favor," he told her."

"Sure," she nodded. "Anything."

"I think it goes without say, but...I don't believe we should tell your father about this. Not yet."

"Oh, don't worry, you adorable, horny man!" Valerie pinched his cheek. "I won't tell a soul. This is just between us."

Then she left him alone in the shower, a wide smile on his face.


	48. Jockeying For Position

Since he (and the other demons who worked for Lucifer) needed practically no sleep, Dexter liked to fill his evenings with reading nonfiction and watching educational programs on television (with his phone nearby, of course, in case Lucifer needed something during the night.) He thought this was the case when it buzzed as he watched a documentary on the Titanic.

"I wonder what he wants now," Dexter asked himself aloud as he reached for his phone. Then he nearly dropped it when he saw who it was that was calling him. It wasn't Lucifer. It was Valerie. And he would have preferred Lucifer, frankly. Sighing, he took the call. "What do you want?" He asked. He paused and changed his tone. "I mean, what can I do for you, your highness?"

"Nothing," Valerie told him cheerfully. "I just figured that since you don't need much sleep, you'd like something to fill up all the lonely hours. So...what are you doing?"

"Nothing that would interest you," he told her, glad that she couldn't see he was biting his lip on a smile. "I'm watching a very boring TV show. That's it. Now go to sleep! I might not need shut eye, but _you_ do!"

"I don't want to go to sleep!" Valerie told him. "Not until you look at the picture I just sent you and tell me what you think!"

"What picture?" Dexter asked, taking the phone away from his ear. Once he did that, he saw that he had a picture message. He clicked on it and then wished he hadn't cause it was a picture of Valerie and she seemed to be wearing nothing but a smile, and a seductive smile at that, as she posed on her bed.

"Are you _crazy_?" He yelled at her. "You can't send me pictures like that!"

"Why not?" Valerie asked. "What's on your phone is your own business, right? I doubt my dad checks."

"Well, you don't know that!" Dexter cried.

" _Does_ he?" Valerie asked.

"No, but...it's still not a good thing to do!" Dexter remonstrated. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Why?" Valerie questioned. "Why should I be ashamed of that picture? I'm hot!"

"Would you just stop doing stuff like sending me sexy pictures of yourself?" Dexter snapped. "Just stop!"

There was a silence on the other end of the line and for a moment, Dexter was glad. He thought she was so offended that she'd hung up on him. Hopefully that meant she wouldn't want to go near him for a while and that would give him time to get himself under control. But, much to his chagrin, it wasn't what Valerie had in mind.

Instead, a live video of her popped up where she was rubbing herself with one hand and licking a sucker she held with the other. He couldn't look away. A soft growl escaped his lips, which made her grin.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" He yelled when she paused to say 'Hello' and give him a seductive wink.

"Like what you see? Sounds like it," she chuckled.

"If I didn't like the picture, I don't know why the movie version would be any different," Dexter said. He'd watched her for a little while and he could feel himself getting aroused again, but there was no way he was gonna let her see that. "Okay now, you've had your fun and it's time to stop."

She giggled. "You're so funny! If you want me to stop, you're gonna have to come into my room and make me!"

"No, I won't!" Dexter told her firmly. "I'm going to stay in here and watch my movie and I'm not gonna leave unless either of your parents wants me for something. That is the only reason I will move from this room. There's nothing you can do that will move me anywhere."

"Well, okay," Valerie pouted, her eyes big. "I guess you win. I'll leave you alone. Sorry for bothering you. Goodnight, Dexter."

"Goodnight," Dexter told her. "And..it's better this way, I promise. I know it's hard for you to understand, but it is!" He ended the call and was met, finally, with silence. Blessed, sweet silence.

Then, just as his show got over and he was ready to lie down for a bit of a rest, the phone buzzed again.

"Please let it be the boss," he muttered as he grabbed for his phone. "Please!"

But it was Valerie again. And she was in her bed with some blond guy he'd never seen before. They were kissing, and they were naked. Now, he wasn't foolish enough to believe that there was actually another man in her bed. This _had_ to be a trick to manipulate him. It had to be! But he wouldn't fall for it. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

But the longer he watched it, the more he wondered. What if it _was_ real? What if that was an actual guy in her bed?" He paced around as the two conflicting thoughts did battle in his brain and jealousy finally won. He stormed out of his own room and strode in long strides to Valerie's, where he kicked the door down and she nearly let out a shriek of surprise.

"Where is he?" Dexter demanded. "Where's that guy I saw in your bed? I want to have a word with him."

"You...that worked, I can't believe it!" She smiled. "I wasn't sure you'd be fooled, but you were." She pulled the blankets aside to reveal that she was sleeping alone. "It was all an illusion, you! Don't you remember that I have powers, sweetie? I just wanted to get you down here cause I didn't want to be in here alone."

"Are you telling me that you _lied_ to me to get me in here?" Dexter asked. "That's not good, Valerie."

"Oh, shut up," she grinned. "If you're trying to make me feel shame, that doesn't work on me. I _have_ no shame."

"Obviously," Dexter scoffed. He headed over to the door, but when he tried to open it so he could leave, it wouldn't budge. "The door won't open!" He said. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing!" Valerie said from her bed. Her room was pink and red and he had never hated those colors so much. "I just don't want you to leave yet, so you're staying here until I say you can go!"

"You can't do that, Valerie!" He groaned and stopped trying to pull the door open. "Do you really care about me? Cause people don't treat other people that they care about this way. They respect their feelings."

"I know!" Valerie replied. "I respect _most_ of your feelings. Just not ones that involve you avoiding the fact that you like me and want to have sex with me because you're afraid of what my dad will say. I already told you that I won't tell him. You'll be safe in here. Please stay with me. Please?"

"All right," he said as she clapped and squealed happily. "What do you want from me?"

"Take off your shirt again!" She commanded. "And get into bed with me here, and then...then you can pleasure me with your tongue!"

Dexter opened his mouth to protest this idea, but stopped. It did no good. Instead, he removed his shirt and gave her a slow grin as he advanced toward the bed, his tongue sliding over his bottom lip as he reached Valerie, his eyes never leaving her face, especially as she locked eyes with him and didn't look away. Then, he grabbed her and kissed her soundly, his hand going between her legs and rubbing for a little bit before he released her and she fell back onto the mattress, giggling loudly.

He put a hand over her mouth and whispered, "Not so loud! Your parents' room is nowhere near here, thank goodness, but your father knows everything! Or at least it doesn't take him long to figure things out. You wanted this to happen! Don't ruin it, too!"

And with that, Valerie snapped her fingers, holding a blindfold in hand. "You want to make sure I stay quiet?" She whispered. "Use this."

"All right," Dexter nodded and gagged her. "Maybe I will." Then she lay back down and he parted her legs, pleasuring her in a slow, leisurely fashion until she climaxed, which took a little bit of time. Then, when the gag was off and she was sitting up, she grabbed his face and kissed him. "You're so good at that!" She said. "Good for you!"

"Thanks," he grinned. "Now I want to see how good _you_ are. I get a turn too, don't I?"

"Yeah," Valerie nodded without hesitation. "Fair is fair. Lay down." He did and she got his pants off, then lowered the lights and put on some soft music before lowering her head and sucking on him gently. slowly working her way up his shaft.

"Oh...oh, my..." he got out. 'This...this is much better than what you did with your fingers in the shower."

She couldn't speak, of course, but she reached over and took his hand, just holding it until he climaxed with a yell and knocked his head on the headboard.

"Are you all right?" She asked, swallowing, licking her lips, and looking at him with concern. "I hope you're not hurt."

He smiled and cupped her face with his hands. "Even if I was, it wouldn't matter," he said. "That was totally worth it. And I didn't mean to yell. I hope your dad doesn't come in here."

"He won't," Valerie promised and kissed his neck. "I promise."

"Good," Dexter said, thinking he had been out of his mind to refuse this. "That's very good!"

* * *

Elsewhere, Junior and Maeve were also settling in for the evening.

From his bed, Junior was clicking the remote repeatedly in an attempt to find even a half-way decent movie to watch, but there didn't seem to be anything. That was his job while Maeve went through the cupboards in his kitchen looking for snacks.

Suddenly, he started as the bedroom door swung open and hit the wall and Maeve bounded through it then bounced onto the bed beside him, some of the chips in the bowl she held landing on the black and white bed.

"These are good," Junior replied and picked them up off the blanket, popping them into his mouth. "What about drinks?"

"Well, what do you want?" Maeve questioned. "I was gonna bring, beer, but I...is that what you want?"

"I'll get it," Junior told her. "You sit. Maybe _you_ can find a movie. I haven't had much luck." He went to get the beer and when he came back, there was something she was laughing at.

"Well, good for you!" He told her. "You found something!"

It wasn't a movie, though. Just old _Gilligan's Island_ re-runs. That surprised him. "Why'd you pick this?" He asked curiously after climbing into bed.

"I know it's kind of dumb and it's not a movie, but I turned it on and started watching it and I could just not stop laughing!" Maeve replied. "This is something that the boss would think up! I mean, do they _ever_ get off the damn island?"

"No, I don't think so," Junior replied. "Here's your beer. I opened it for you." He handed her his bottle. "Would you open mine?"

"Sure," she grinned, giving the lid a twist, handing it to him, and grabbing another handful of chips.

They sat next to each other on the bed, drinking, eating, and watching TV until Maeve got up to go to the bathroom and it hit her as she got back in bed with him, watched TV, and he just absent-mindedly kissed her forehead, a gentle touch of his lips that she hardly felt. "You and me...we've been watching TV all night," she told Junior.

"Yeah," he nodded and played with her hair. "What about it?"

"Well...I mean, you and I have been getting along _all night_. We've been laughing and eating and drinking together...that's a date!" She began shaking him, her eyes wide as his beer sloshed all over his jeans. "Don't you get it? You and I are on a date!"

"Will you stop shaking me?" He cried. "And it doesn't have to be a date because we're doing things that people do on a date. We don't have to label it. It can just...be what it is."

"Right," Maeve nodded. "Exactly. Let's just...let's just have sex and then I can go home and we'll move on."

"But I don't wanna have sex," he told her. "I like what we're doing!" He gasped. "Oh, my god. I like what we're doing! And it's _not_ sex!"

"Well, since running for the hills at the first sign of commitment is your thing, I think we're safe," Maeve told him. "You'll never have to worry about us being serious because you're too afraid to make that happen."

"It sounds like that bothers you," Junior told her. "Does it?"

"No!" Maeve shook her head. "I told you, I'm not a commitment person."

"Then why are you blushing?" He asked her. "If that's what you want...if you want a relationship out of this...you can say so."

"What's the point?" Maeve asked. "You liked Sarah a lot more than you like me and you still ditched her. How would I be different?"

"I've been having a good time," he told her. "And I wouldn't mind doing this again. Doesn't that count for something?"

"I'll think about it," Maeve told him. "In my room. At my house. Not here."

"All right," Junior nodded and gestured out the still-open door. "But keep in mind that between the two of us, this time, it's _you_ who's leaving early. Not me."

Maeve turned on her heel and strode out of the room and after the door closed behind her, she she stomped her foot. "Damn," she whispered as she made her way to the door. "He picked a _bad_ time to make a _good_ point."

* * *

Down the street from Lucifer's house was a school for deaf human children. One of the first things they did in the morning was read a story, and the favorite sort was fairy tales. That morning was Snow White, and once it was over, one of the little girls asked her teacher by signing if she believed in true love.

"Do you, Miss Lambert?" She wanted to know. "Or love at first sight?"

"Yes," her teacher signed back with a smile. "I read these stories to you every day and I can't help but think about what man is out there for me. I hope he's nice."

"Yeah," the little girl agreed. "You deserve someone nice."

Then Miss Lauren Jane Lambert announced it was time to do math, something that the class always complained about. She didn't really like it either, but it had to be done.

After she showed them how to do the lesson, she sat down at her desk and, while watching her students do their work, got lost once again in thoughts about the sort of man she wanted to marry. She didn't have much room to be picky, she thought. It wasn't like there were a lot of attractive, single deaf guys around. And she'd _tried_ dating hearing men, but that hadn't worked out as well as she'd wanted it to, even though it had worked for her parents. Her father was just as good at signing as she and her mother were. It was really wonderful.

"Someone nice," she thought to herself as she doodled in an empty notebook. "I want someone really nice..."

* * *

"Okay, ladies!" Vincent said as he brought two more bottles of wine into the room where he was holding a party for some women he'd met the night before. "Now we don't have to worry about being low on drinks!"

"Gee, Vincent," said a redhead as she came up to him and rubbed against him. "It's so good that you're always ready to keep our glasses full. I like that in a man." She nibbled on his ear and then kissed his neck and he decided then and there that she would get the best spot on the bed with him when they moved in that direction.

But clearly some of the other girls had different ideas and soon, a fight broke out with lots of punching and yelling and hair pulling between women who were all not as sober as they could be.

"Okay, ladies, okay, enough!" Vincent said and got them to stop. "Don't hurt each other or break things because then I'll have to explain what happened to my mother and I'm really not in the mood to do that. Let's go to bed now, shall we?"

"But what about the wine?" A brunette asked. "You just brought it!"

"We can take it to bed with us," he grinned at her. "No trouble with that."

"And I get to have the closest spot to you on the bed," a blonde remarked. "You promised me last time."

"No, didn't you hear?" The redhead questioned and gave her a push. "He had a look on his face like that would be _my_ spot!"

"Ladies, there's enough of me for everyone," he said, taking each one by the arm. "Let's not fight. There's no reason to."

"All right," they both agreed, and after a little jockeying for position, there was a pile of clothes on the floor and every woman was reaching to touch him. Life, he told himself as he lay back and closed his eyes, was good. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Not now. Not for him.


	49. Lost In A Fantasy

"You know, that was very generous of Lucifer to let you come to his house and be his butler after all the years of you skipping out on your punishments," Victoria told Kai as they drove away from the McDonalds with their fries and burgers in her lap. She was in the backseat and he was driving. That was the only way they would get home with the bag full.

"Can I have some fries?" Kai asked. "Please? I just want a few!"

"No!" Victoria replied. "The drive home will take no time at all. You can wait." But she sneaked some fries when his attention was directed elsewhere. As the fries popped into her mouth, Kai let out a cry and the car spun out of control.

Just as they were about to careen into a tree, Victoria used her powers to stop them, then watched in shock as Kai sat up straight. "Were you not looking at the road?" She asked, stunned. "Were you hiding? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Lucifer or his people were following us," Kai explained as he tried to catch his breath. "In a black car. I didn't want them to see me. And this isn't the first time."

"What do you mean they were following us?" Victoria questioned, twisting her body so that she could see behind the car. But she saw nothing. Not even one other car that _wasn't_ black. "Maybe you were just being paranoid. I think I would have heard it if a car was gonna crash into us."

"Well, I can't exactly explain why you didn't," Kai told her. "Maybe it was because you were too busy stuffing your face with the French fries you told me I had to wait to eat!"

"I just had a few," Victoria countered. "That's no reason to throw a fit. You know I have better restraint than you do. Now let's just go home and eat before our food gets cold and then you can yell at me some more."

" _I'm_ not the one who's yelling!" Kai yelled. "You're yelling at _me!"_ He knew she would never concede the point and she _was_ right about the food, so, after casting a hunted look around to make sure that the sleek black car that he was sure belonged to Lucifer was nowhere in sight, he took a deep breath, put his foot on the gas, and began driving home again.

But as he drove, Victoria saw it too...the slim black car, following behind them at a discreet distance. But just as she was about to say something to Kai, it made a turn and disappeared.

* * *

When they got home and were sitting at the table, she apologized. "I saw it too," she told him. "The black car. Sorry I though you were delusional."

"Thanks for admitting it," Kai replied. "And it's good that we know they're coming to collect now so I can hide and not be taken anywhere."

"I know it's freaky to have a car stalking us for reasons unknown, but it's really not gonna be that bad working at his house," Victoria tried to reason with her husband. "I'm pretty sure they'll still feed you. And I bet they'll let us visit."

"Oh, I know all _that_ , Vicky," he assured her. "But it's the principle of the thing! Do not go gentle into the night, and all that. I have to fight them to feel good about myself."

"You've been fighting things and people your whole life," Victoria reminded him. "Can't you give yourself a break for once?"

"What, and let people get the best of me?" Kai asked and shoveled another handful of fries in his mouth. "I don't think so! I will _not_ go quietly! They will have to cuff me and drag me out if they want to take me anywhere at all!"

Victoria rolled her eyes. The ridiculousness of it all was beginning to give her a headache. Why he couldn't just make things easier for everyone, do his time, and move on was beyond her. Sometimes, being with him made her _long_ for hours spent with her Mikaelson relatives, especially Grandpa Kol and Great-grandpa Mikael. She knew how to deal with them, even on the worst days. Whereas with Kai, even after so many years, there were times when she still had no idea what to do with him.

* * *

Hoping it would put Kai's mind at ease if he knew why the car was following them (and knowing that it would certainly do her a world of good), she went to visit Ellie and ask.

"I'm sorry, I can't say I know for sure if my husband is sending cars after yours," Ellie said. "I'm sorry if he is. I can talk to him about it."

"I hope so," Victoria replied. "I want all this to go as smoothly as possible, but Kai's intent on fighting it until the very end."

"Well, I can understand why," Ellie nodded. "I mean, I did when Lucifer first brought _me_ here."

"Really?" Victoria asked. "What bad thing did you do?"

"I didn't do anything bad," Ellie shook her head. "He just...he had it in his head that he was in love with me, so...here I am! Kinda scary, I know, but..."

"When I met Kai, it was during one of his many stints in jail and I was a mischievous girl visiting the witch government building," Victoria said. "I was supposed to stay away from the jail cells but I sneaked down there and that's how Kai and I met. Then the jailers noticed that when he was with me, he was less inclined to try and run away, so I got paid to watch him. Then, he kidnapped me and took me to live with him in this other dimension where it was just the two of us for ages and during that time...I realized that, for some odd reason, I'd never be able to live without him."

"It's so nice to know that it's not just me," Ellie said. "It's nice to have someone to talk to about this." She gave Victoria a smile and then grabbed her phone. "If you can stay for a little bit, I'll call Lucifer and ask him what the hell is going on with that car, all right?"

"Thanks." Victoria told her. "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Ellie grinned and then called her husband.

"Yes, Eleanor, I know all about the car," Lucifer told her a few minutes later. "Yes, it _is_ to make sure it's always in the back of his mind that I _will_ come for him someday."

"Yes, well, you made your point, but according to Victoria, who's sitting here by me right now, he's more determined than ever to fight you because of that little display," Ellie said. "I just thought you would want to know that."

"How nice of you to warn me, darling," Lucifer replied. "That'll just give me more time to gather reinforcements. I'll call the witches' council and have them send me their best people."

"That's not what I meant," Ellie told him. "That's not why I'm telling you this. I was thinking that maybe, in light of all this, you might let me take the gentler approach."

"Normally I would, Eleanor," Lucifer assured her. "But I can't this time. Not when we're so close to making Kai pay. But any other time, I would. You know that, don't you? Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some phone calls to make. See you at home tonight."

"See later," Ellie sighed.

"Any luck?" Victoria asked. "What did he say?"

"The cars were definitely sent to psych Kai out and make sure his fate is always gonna be in the back of his mind," Ellie told her. "And apparently, Lucifer is just as determined to make Kai go as Kai is to stay, so...it's gonna be fun when the day of reckoning happens, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Victoria nodded. "It certainly is."

* * *

It took some negotiation between Victoria, Ellie, Lucifer, and the magical Council, but finally it was decided that Kai would have a week to get things together before they came and took him. Kai had been invited to come have a hand in his fate, but, thinking it was a trick to kidnap him, he had declined. naively trusting Victoria would stick up for him and insist that Lucifer should let bygones be bygones and leave him alone.

Since that was his thought process, he was deeply wounded when Victoria told him the actual plan.

"Victoria, I feel so betrayed!" He proclaimed. "You're my _wife_! You're supposed to stick up for _me_! Instead, you stab me in the back! That makes me feel real damn good!"

"I'm doing this to help you!" Victoria told him. "This'll always be hanging over your head, so you might as well get it over with. It won't last forever!"

"Says the person who doesn't have to go through it!" Kai cried. "I don't need you or anyone! I can handle this by myself!" He then shut his eyes and began muttering a spell under his breath. Victoria was unsure what he was doing at first, even though it should have been obvious. But too late, she realized it when she recognized the familiar vortex that acted as an entryway to Kai's dimension of solitude, something every witch or warlock could create if they _really_ hated people and just wanted to be alone for a while.

When she realized what was happening, she tried to make a grab for him, but it was too late. One leap and he was gone. And she knew there was no way she could get him back. He would probably change the secret word to get in so she couldn't follow. This was just wonderful.

* * *

"I'm sorry this is so difficult," Victoria apologized as Astrid, the head of the magical council and her Grandma Helene's mother, made her way into Victoria and Kai's house with Lucifer, her head deputy James, and James' wife, Lenora, along with a couple of other officers. "I had hoped that it would be easy, but..."

"With your husband, it never is," James told her. "Never has been, never will be." He had been the one in charge of bringing Kai down. He'd had other duties as well, but it was bringing Kai to justice that had taken up most of his time. "Now, did you say he went into his solitary dimension?"

"Yes," Victoria nodded, her dark eyes full of worry. "And I could get into it at one point, but I bet he changed the entrance word so I can't now."

"Not to worry," Astrid assured her. "There are other ways to get in. We'll get him."

"Yeah, I know you will," Victoria nodded.

"And you give us permission to use whatever means necessary to get him out, right?" James asked her.

"Yes," Victoria sighed. "I told him that it was important to just get this over with, so do what you need to do."

"Thanks," James told her, his blue eyes finally getting some light in them. "It's nice to know that at least _one_ of you is reasonable."

"All right, everyone stand back," Astrid told him, straightening her black skirt and pushing a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes before facing the wall and squaring her shoulders. "I'm about to do the spell to open his dimension. Whoever wants to come, hold on to each other and stay close to me." She said a spell and soon the swirling vortex appeared again and they were all sucked into it, groaning as they landed hard on the floor of the house where Kai was presumably hiding out.

But of course they didn't see him anywhere.

"Okay, how do we lure him out?" Lucifer asked Victoria. "Any ideas?"

"I might have one," Victoria nodded. "It might ruin my marriage, but it'll get him where he needs to be, so I'll do it."

Everyone then watched as she zapped a trail of Oreos from the front door to the bedroom door, then, when she noticed Kai was outside, called for him, then left a note, telling him to meet her in the bedroom.

She didn't think he would fall for it, but he did, and when he got inside the bedroom, James and Lenora jumped from the closet and tried to grab him but he ran out, cursing Victoria's name. It was comical to watch him run from room to room, but finally, he gave up and Lenora got him on the ground and cuffed him, then after he was back on his feet, James held his arm tight.

"That was such a mean trick," Kai pouted.

"You got cookies, what are you complaining about?" Victoria asked. She was in a skimpy black nightie, which he kept his eyes on for as long as he could as James and the others walked him away. She may have betrayed him, but she was still very pretty.

"It won't be so bad working for me," Lucifer promised him before Astrid made him zap them back to earth. "You'll have a food and a roof over your head. It'll hardly be like a punishment at all."

"Yeah?" Kai bared his teeth. "We'll see about that."

Before they left, Lenora put a hand on Victoria's shoulder. "It was real good of you to do this," she said. "I'll take you out for a drink later."

"Good," Victoria nodded and zapped herself into normal clothes. "I think I need it. And maybe we can take Lucifer's wife Ellie with us. I think you'd like her."

"I've heard good things," Lenora nodded. "Another member of the 'made a deal with a bad guy and then fell in love with him' club."

"Yep," Victoria nodded. "And we gotta stick together, don't we?"

* * *

Maeve was practicing her boxing in Ellie's exercise room when there was a knock on the door. Thinking it was Lucifer, she didn't hesitate to go to the door and let him in (even though she was irritated because they'd made a deal that he wouldn't ask her to do errands during her workout time). "Okay, what do you need?" She asked. "Go ahead and tell me. But give me time to take a shower first."

"Oh, sorry," said Junior's voice. "I can wait. It's no problem."

"What are you doing here?" Maeve pulled him into the room. "Did anyone see you? What are you doing here?" She was so curious, she asked twice.

"I just...I wanted to see you," he told her. "I've called and you haven't talked to me. Can't you tell me why? Usually, people run out after sex. You ran out after TV night!"

"You know why I haven't talked to you," Maeve said as he took her hand and circled his thumb around her palm. "I know what you want from me. I just...I don't know if I can do it. The boss has me working a lot."

"Well, figure out your schedule and call me," he told her. "I like not spending my nights eating soup for one." He gave her a grin that she found endearing in spite of herself. "Please?"

"Oh, all right," she said. "I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," Junior told her, then held out his arms for a hug.

"What's that?" Maeve asked. "What are you doing?"

"How could you _not_ know what I'm doing? Haven't you ever just hugged anyone before?" Junior questioned.

"Let's think about this," Maeve told him. "Knowing what you do about me, do you _think_ I've ever just hugged anyone before?"

"Well, no, but I don't think it would hurt you to start," Junior told her.

Maeve just sighed. "Look, I'm in the middle of my exercises and I only have so much time to do them before I have to get back to doing my boss's bidding so...do you mind if I got back to that?"

"Oh," Junior nodded and backed up toward the door. "Sure. Sorry."

"Thank you," Maeve nodded. She expected him to go out the door and be gone, but instead, he picked up a set of weights that was in her line of vision and began doing curls with it. "What are you doing?" She asked. "I thought you were leaving!"

"Why?" Junior asked her. "It's been a while since I've worked out, so I figured we could do it together. You don't mind, do you?"

"No," Maeve shook her head and began punching the punching bag. "It's fine with me."

But then Junior took off his shirt as he continued to do curls and then got on a weight bench, lifting hundreds of pouds of weight as easily as if he were lifting only five or ten. And watching his muscles ripple made her distracted, so much so that when the punching bag swung back toward her, she forgot to hit it back and it hit her in the face, sending her flying backwards on the floor.

She was knocked unconscious for a few seconds and when her eyes opened, she found a shirtless Junior leaning over her, a look of worry in his eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked. "That bag hit you pretty hard. Should we get you some ice or something?"

"No," She shook her head as he helped her over to a chair. "I'll be fine. I'm good."

"Positive?" Junior asked.

"Yes!" Maeve nodded. "I promise, I'm good! Now would you go put a shirt on, please? That body of yours should be classified as a public danger!"

Junior grinned broadly. "I didn't want to say that you got whacked in the face cause you were staring at me, but...you got whacked in the face because you were staring at me." He nibbled on her ear. "I saw you do it."

"Oh, look at that!" Maeve said and got up out of the chair. "My boss is calling. Better go!" She then ran out of the room, leaving Junior alone, his body shaking with laughter.

* * *

Later that night, she called him, her tone noticeably different. "Sorry I ran out on you today," she said. "But we were getting into talking too much about feelings and you know how bad I am at that!"

"Yeah, I guess," Junior agreed. "It's not my best thing, either. I know you probably didn't want me to come see you cause that wasn't the deal, but I can't help it. I _like_ you, Maeve. I like being around you. And when I'm with you...I don't feel like a big failure at life cause I'm not good at marriage or being a hands on parent. You let me be who I want and you don't judge me for it."

"That...that's what I like about you, too," Maeve confessed, shocked that the words were even coming out of her mouth. "I'm not the motherly type at all."

"If I told you that I just wanted to pick up and go to Europe or something, would you want to come with me?" Junior asked.

"Yeah," Maeve nodded. "What would be keeping me here? Well, except for the boss, that is, and I'm sure I could work around that."

"There you go!" Junior replied. "Did you know that when I was in school to be a doctor, Sarah wouldn't come there with me cause it was in Europe and Ellie was too small at that point? You have a much better sense of dedication than she does. Our priorities are the same."

"When you said you wanted to pack up and go to Europe with me, did you mean it?" Maeve questioned.

"I was speaking hypothetically," he told her. Then paused. "But if you...if you _want_ to go with me, we should do it!"

"Sometime I'd like to," Maeve told him agreeably. "You know, I've not really traveled much. You know Europe well?"

"Well enough," he nodded. "But there would still be a lot of new places that we could find for ourselves."

This made her squirm a little inside. The thought of having something special...an object, a place...that was just hers...her own little secret thing. It was something she'd always wanted but never felt she'd be able to have. And here he was offering it to her.

"Are you still there?" He asked after not hearing anything on her end for several seconds. "Maeve?"

"Sorry!" Maeve apologized. "I was just...I was thinking."

"It's okay," he told her.

"Just one more thing, though," she said. "It won't...it won't bother you to go out in public with me, will it?" She questioned.

"Why would it?" He asked.

"Well, cause I'm black, you know, and that bothers people when two people who are different...you know...go out," she said. "I've seen it."

"It wouldn't bother me," Junior told her simply. "We'll go out and if people don't like it, that's their problem, not ours. Plus, I would totally be okay with you smiting them in public if you wanted to."

This made Maeve chuckle. "Well, you know just the way to my heart, don't you? Which is nuts because before you, I didn't even think of myself as having one."

"You do," Junior told her. "It just...I'm glad I helped you find it. Now I know how much you hate talking about mushy stuff, so you'd probably like to hang up now, wouldn't you?"

"No," Maeve sighed and moved to lay down on her bed. "I just want to hear you talk. Will you keep talking to me, please?"

"What about?" Junior asked.

"Tell me about Europe," she said. "What's Europe like? At least how you experienced it?" And she lay there for the next several minutes as Junior prattled on about Europe and all the adventures they would have someday...together.

* * *

The tone on her phone was only on for about two seconds before a grinning Valerie turned it off, got out of bed, grabbed a robe, and sneaked on her tiptoes through the hallways of the mansion to Dexter's room. Ever since their encounter in his bed, she'd been feeling very daring and sneaking into Dexter's room early in the morning so they could do it some more without her parents knowing. She knew she wouldn't get away with it forever, but she would go on as long as she could.

She made her way to his room, got the door open, and sneaked inside, seeing the shape of his body under the covers. She pulled at them. "Dexter," she whispered. "Dexter, get up! It's fun time!"

She pulled the sheets aside and found three pillows to create the shape of a body. Then she felt one arm wrap around her waist and one go on her mouth as Dexter whispered in her ear. "Surprise," he whispered as the hand on her waist slid downward into her panties. "It's just me. Don't scream...yet."

"I shouldn't scream at all because that would bring Daddy in here and that's not what we want," Valerie whispered as he rubbed her. "But you're making it very difficult to care about that at the moment."

"Am I?" Dexter chuckled in her ear. "Good!" He picked her up and carried her to his bed where he set her down and they began making out and touching each other, and this, as usual, went on for a couple of hours.

Just as they were about to throw caution to the wind and go all the way, however, there was a knock on the door.

"Oh, my god!" Valerie whispered. "Who the hell is that? It better not be my father!"

"It might be!" Dexter cried, just as panicked as she was. "Get under the covers and don't let him see you!"

Valerie burrowed under the covers the best she could and when they were sure that she wouldn't be seen, Dexter finally called for Lucifer to come in.

"Well, it's about time!" He said in a light-hearted voice. "What took you so long? It's never taken that long for you to let me in here before!" Then, he saw the lump under the blankets.

"Well, I guess that's my answer!" He grinned and clapped his hands once. "You had a friend over last night, did you? See, I knew you would want that some day! I sensed it! Would you care to introduce me?"

"I would, but...she's kinda shy and this was her first time spending the night," Dexter told him apologetically. "And you have to admit, meeting you is kind of...overwhelming for the average demon or person."

"True," Lucifer conceded with a grin. "Well, I'll be on my way now. I'm just finally glad you're enjoying yourself."

"Really?" Dexter asked in surprise.

"Really," Lucifer nodded. "See you downstairs. But there's no rush. Take all the time you need." He came to the side of the bed and Dexter automatically tensed as Lucifer patted the lump on the covers. "Nice to meet you," he told her. "In a sense. I hope you enjoyed your evening with my right hand man and that he's just as hard a worker in bed as he is out of it."

Valerie made an indistinct muttering noise and Lucifer said, "You're right, she _is_ shy," before he strode out of the bedroom, whistling between his teeth.

When he was gone, Valerie threw the covers off herself. "That was close!" She breathed. "I thought I was gonna die when he patted the covers!"

"But we made it through, that's the important thing," Dexter said. "Now we have to get dressed and get downstairs to breakfast."

"Yes, we do," Valerie agreed, zapping on a dress. "And be normal. We don't want to give anything away."

"Of course," Dexter nodded and put some pants and a shirt on. "If ever this is figured out, it won't be because of _me_."

* * *

They decided that Valerie would go down first so that it would seem like Dexter was 'enjoying time with his lady friend', something her father was quick to bring up when he saw her.

"Dexter seems to have had an overnight guest," Lucifer remarked to her. "I got so distracted by that that I didn't even tell him about Kai."

"He's got a woman he's sleeping with now?" Ellie asked. "That's...how nice!" Then she looked at Valerie. "How do you feel about that? I know you're attached to him."

"Oh, it's fine," Valerie gave a long, dramatic sigh and looked off into the distance. "I guess I'll just have to find a way to deal with it."

"You'll find someone," Ellie assured her and patted her hand. "I promise."

Dexter came downstairs not long after that and bumped into a surly Kai, who dropped a plate that had Vincent's second helping of eggs on the floor.

"Sorry about that," he told him. "Who are you?"

"Remember I told you about Kai, our new butler?" Lucifer asked. "Well, that's him. I meant to mention him to you when I came to your room, but we all know why that didn't happen."

"Well, hello," Dexter told him as Kai muttered a response and then went to get Vincent more eggs.

"Good morning, Dexter," Valerie said. "I trust you slept well last night?"

"Good morning, Miss Valerie," Dexter replied without missing a beat. "As a matter of fact I did. Thank you for asking. I hope you did, too."

"Oh, I sure did!" Valerie grinned in spite of herself. "I want to sleep that well _every night_!"

"I-I hope that works out for you too," Dexter told her, trying to stop his voice from shaking, but failing. "I'm gonna go get some coffee and toast, and then...I assume my list of errands for today is on your desk?" He asked Lucifer.

"Yes, but there's no rush to do them!" Lucifer told him. "Come sit down and tell us more about your lady friend!"

"Don't ask him to talk about that!" Ellie exclaimed. "Can't you see you're making him uncomfortable?" Then she gave Dexter a smile. "It's okay," she assured him. "You don't have to tell us about her if you don't want to. You can have your breakfast and do your errands just like normal."

"Thank you!" He told her and then ran out of the room to get his coffee and start on his errands, thinking that the chance could not have come soon enough.


	50. Forbidden Fruit

Dexter had just come in from doing his morning errands when he felt someone grab him. "What in the-?" He whispered, then found himself face to face with Valerie, who pulled him close and kissed him.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his eyes wide with shock when she pulled away with a grin. "Someone could see us!"

"Oh, who's around to object?" She asked, brushing that fear away. "The only real danger is daddy and he's gone!"

Dexter paused and thought about this. "You know, you're right," he told her. "But I still don't think it's a good idea to make out for too long out in the open." He gave her one more lingering kiss and then let her go, heading to his bedroom. Of course she followed.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked. "Don't you have other things to do with your time?"

"Yes," Valerie grinned. "But it's nothing very urgent. It can wait." She paused and gave a little giggle, getting up real close to him and cupping his bottom. "It can wait, but I'm not so sure I can!"

They stared at one another for quite a while, then Valerie slowly licked her bottom lip and that was it. Dexter grabbed her and started kissing her again. "Okay, that's enough," he told her. "I have other things to do. Can't get distracted. I'm sure your dad would be upset if he knew I was letting my emotions get in the way of my job!"

"If you have more errands to run, I can help you," Valerie told him. "Please let me. I've never been to a grocery store or whatever and I want to. I think it would help make me a more put together person to experience the world outside this house. Please?"

"All right," Dexter told her. "But you keep your hands to yourself and no misbehaving. Don't do anything your dad would do."

"Right," Valerie nodded. " _Obviously_!" She then went to tell her mother, thinking that Ellie would protest. But to her surprise, Ellie was pleased.

"You...you want to go out and do things like a normal person?" She asked, running over to her daughter and giving her a tight hug. "That's great! I'm so proud of you!"

"Really?" Valerie asked. "You don't think it's stupid or reckless?"

"No," Ellie shook her head, her dark eyes bright. "Just behave yourself and don't cause trouble for poor Dexter while he's working, okay?"

"All right," Valerie promised. "I'll try to be good. How hard can that be, right?"

* * *

But as they walked into the grocery store, she realized that keeping that promise would be harder than she thought. Things began to go downhill when she received her first instructions. "You push the cart," Dexter told her. "I'll look down the list and fill the cart."

"Okay, Captain!" Valerie saluted. But as they trudged from aisle to aisle, she began to get bored. "Why are you getting that much toilet paper?" She asked. "A whole army is not going to the bathroom in our house!" She took the larger batch of toilet paper from him and put three in the cart. "There. That's plenty."

"You save money this way," Dexter said firmly, putting the larger batch back. "I'm being practical. And when you consider how many people live in our house, large amounts of toilet paper are necessary."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "I think you're being silly is what you're being."

Then he tried to speed her past another aisle so that she wouldn't see it.

"No, no," she told him. "What is it? I wanna see!" She abandoned the cart and ran down the brightly colored aisle, her smile wide when she found out it was all candy. She came back with her arms full of treats, threw some vegetables and fruit on the ground, and then stuffed the cart with her haul.

"What are you doing?" Dexter whispered angrily. "You can't throw all the vegetables on the ground! You need to eat those! They're good for you!"

"Yes, but if the cart is full of stupid _vegetables_ , there won't be enough room for my candy and that is what is important here!" Valerie countered and stomped her foot. "I want _candy_!"

Dexter sighed. "Well, at least we're moving onto a new vice besides lust. That's promising." They then made a deal that Valerie could have _some_ of her candy now and Dexter would come back and get the stuff that it replaced later.

"Thank you, Dexter," Valerie told him. "That was very nice of you."

"You're welcome," Dexter told her. "Thank you for at least letting me buy the fruit."

"No problem," Valerie replied. "I like fruit. Especially apples!" She reached over to grab one and Dexter's jaw dropped as she took a bite. "You can't eat that until we pay for it!"

"But why not?" Valerie questioned. "I saw people sneaking grapes when they thought no one was looking before they paid for them. How is my eating some of an apple now any different? Unlike _some_ people I've heard stories about, I see no reason why I should pay for it the rest of my life just because I took a bite."

"Well, it's...it just is," Dexter replied. "Please don't ask me to explain the logic behind it because I have no damn idea."

"Okay," Valerie sighed and put the apple back. "I won't eat it."

"Well, you already did so you might as well not go halfway," Dexter said.

"Good point," Valerie shrugged and picked the apple up again.

They trudged around a little while longer until Valerie's feet got tired. "Why do I have to keep pushing this cart around?" She asked. "I have an even better idea!" She then climbed up on the front with her feet by the wheels and used her magic to make the cart go. "Wheee!" She cried with a grin. "I'm the queen of the world!" She looked like she was having the time of her life until she realized that she no longer had control of the cart and crashed into a group of machines that dispensed gumballs and little toys. "That was painful."

"Valerie, are you all right?" Dexter asked as he watched her try and get up. He made an effort to reach her, but tripped on some of the little toys and fell on his face.

"Are you okay?" Valerie asked and looked him over. "You have a bump on your head!" She gave it a kiss and then they both got up after a few tries. "Let's get out of here!" She suggested. "People are starting to swarm around."

"Right," Dexter agreed. He paid for their purchases and they made their way out of the store and back home, where they were immediately met by Ellie.

"How did her first trip to the grocery store go?" Ellie questioned. "Did she behave herself?"

"She did," Dexter nodded, even though that was stretching it. "It was an adventure, and I mean that in a good way."

"And what did _you_ think?" Ellie asked her daughter. "Would you want to go out again?"

"Yes, I would," Valerie nodded. "It was fun!" Then she turned to Dexter. "Want some help getting the groceries put away?"

"Sure," Dexter nodded as Ellie grinned at her daughter in approval. "I would love that."

* * *

"Well, well, well," Kai said when he found Dexter in the kitchen eating his lunch not long after. "You're some sort of smooth operator, aren't you?"

Dexter choked on his food, and Kai gave him a few whacks on the back before he was able to ask, "What could you possibly mean by that?"

"You and the girl," Kai grinned. "Not quite sure what her name is yet, but you and she have a thing, don't you?"

"Me and Valerie?" Dexter shook his head. "Oh, no. She wants it to be that, but it's not. It'll never work. Her father would kill both of us if he suspected anything like that."

"Well, I might be able to make you a deal," Kai told him. "Help you out with this situation. But you gotta help me too."

"I won't sneak you out of here so you can evade your punishment," Dexter said firmly. "That won't happen."

"Of course it won't," Kai replied. "That's not what I meant. I just...I'm not allowed to eat as much as I'd like around here, so if you...if you sneak me extra food, I'll keep it quiet about you and the boss's daughter screwing around." He held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"I'm not screwing around with her, but...what other choice do I have?" He shook Kai's hand. "All right...you've got a deal."

Kai grinned. "Excellent. You're a real pal. Now...where's the big refrigerator? There has to be one around here."

"It might be easier if I bring food to you," Dexter told him. "Go to your room or somewhere else, and I'll bring you whatever you want. Just make me a list."

"No offense or anything, but I don't know if I trust you yet," Kai told him. "How do I know that if I go back to my room and wait for you, you'll actually do what I want and won't just turn around and tell someone?"

"Cause your silence is very important to me," Dexter told him through gritted teeth. "But fine. If it'll help you trust me, you can watch me get food for you."

"Thank you," Kai replied. "See, that's not so hard, is it?"

Between the two of them, they ended up with an armload of junk food each and as they made their way back to Kai's room, they came across Lucifer, who'd made a surprise trip home from the office to get a quick late lunch himself.

"What's all the food for, you two?" He asked. "Are we having a party that no one informed me about?"

"No," Dexter shook his head. "This is all for me. I was hungry and Kai was nice enough to volunteer to help me carry it all."

"That's surprising," Lucifer remarked. "I would have that with that new lady friend of yours coming around, you would have been more careful about what you eat."

"Well, I'm not eating it all at one time!" Dexter told him. "Now this stuff is heavy, so...we're gonna go put it away."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "Need some help?"

"No, we're good," Kai told him. "Thanks, though."

"After you do that, I need you to find _me_ a little something," Lucifer said. "I can't be gone long before I have to get back to the office."

"All right," Kai nodded. "I won't take long at all."

They made their way to his room and put the food away and then before Dexter left, Kai slipped him a box of chocolate covered strawberries. "You can have those if you've got a date coming up."

"Thanks," Dexter told him. "I don't know if I do, but thanks!"

"Thanks for not telling on me," Kai replied. "You're not so bad!"

"Well, I try not to be," Dexter told him. "Now, you might want to go help the boss. He means it when he says he can't be here long and he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Kai groaned. "And I have to leave all this delicious food behind. This sucks!"

"I know," Dexter said, but reminded him, "At least you don't have to do it forever. Just remember that."

"I'll try to," Kai told him. "But I don't know if it'll work."

* * *

"Dexter!" Valerie cried when she woke up from a very sexual dream involving the two of them being on a boat and then getting marooned on an island. "Are you...are you really here, or am I still dreaming?"

He turned the light on and she groaned. "You're really here. I can tell because you're wearing clothes."

"Why wouldn't I be wearing clothes?" Dexter asked.

"Well, you won't be for long if you came here for what I think you did!" Valerie exclaimed with a smile. "Very bold to come and see _me_. And so much earlier than usual, too."

"That's because I wanted to tell you that we have to stop doing what we're doing," he said, sitting down next to her. "Kai already saw us. He says he'll keep it a secret but I don't really trust him. You understand, right? The urgency of what I'm saying?"

"Yes," Valerie said firmly. "I do. I...I guess I can stop all the night visits."

"Good girl," he told her and gave her a hug.

"But...I think we should have one more night together," she grinned. "Go out with a bang, you know? Go all the way."

"You mean, you and me will..." Dexter's jaw dropped. "I don't know about that."

"Don't worry," she grinned and kissed him. "I have condoms. It'll be all right."

"Well, okay," Dexter gave in and let her get his shirt off. Then he paused. "Wait...I'm not...I don't know."

"But you just you wanted to!" Valerie cried. "What's the problem?"

"You're gonna think I'm horrible for saying this, but...I don't know if I can do this because I'm not sure you're taking it seriously and I...I do. If you were able to just give yourself to all those guys during that orgy, how is this any different?" Dexter asked. "This _matters_ to me and I can't do it if it doesn't matter just as much to you."

"Of course it matters to me!" Valerie told him, grabbing him, pulling him close, and looking him deep in the eyes. "I always wanted you to be my first. Nobody else!"

"But the other guys..." Dexter told her. "What about them?"

"That was all an illusion!" She told him. "I just made them think they were getting a piece of me. It doesn't take much to get people into hell, you know. Sometimes, all they have to do is just _think_ about sinning and that's it. That's what I did. Please say you believe me!"

Dexter smiled and took her face in his hands. "I do," he promised her. "I do."

"Thank you," Valerie said, then gave the room more of an atmosphere, with lit candles and open curtains to let the moonlight in as Dexter took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against hers. "Are you ready for this?" He asked as she zapped on the radio and Rufus Wainright's _Hallelujah_ filled the room. Interesting choice, Dexter thought to himself before turning his attention back to Valerie's face.

"I have never been more ready for anything in my _whole_ life!" She reassured him. "Are you? Cause we don't have to rush."

"No, I'm ready," he assured her. Then he whispered in her ear, "I love you, Valerie," before laying her back on the mattress and slowly stripping her of what little clothing she had on and removing his pants before joining her in bed, holding her tight against him, and kissing her soundly just after she said "I love you too."

Then their breaths picked up as his hands roamed over her body and he nibbled on her neck. He wanted to pause and ask her if she wanted to be cuffed or gagged, but thought better of it. This just didn't seem like the right time for that. Instead, he just planted kisses all over her and gently pleasured her with his tongue as she played with his hair and whispered his name over and over. Then he stopped and looked up. When his eyes met Valerie's, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," He told her. "I just...it's time. I can't believe it."

"Yeah," Valerie said, gripping the mattress tight because she was full of need. He'd stopped when she was just about to climax and the waiting...the waiting was too much. "Take me!" She said, her eyes shut tight. "Please take me! I want you so bad! What are you waiting for?"

"Open your eyes," he told her. Then he pulled her up to sit and pulled her to him, holding her tight against himself as her legs wrapped tight around his waist. They were truly one the first time he was inside her, just like he wanted it.

Then she fell back onto the mattress and he grinned down at her. "We might need the gag for this next part," he said. "Or do you think you can be quiet?"

"Gag," Valerie agreed. "Just to be safe."

So he gagged her, and then pushed into her over and over and over. He couldn't see the smile on her face of course...but her eyes, her beautiful eyes, told him that she was having the time of her life. And that was enough for him.

Then, when he could tell she was exhausted, he took the gag off, she extinguished all the candles, turned off the radio, and they just lay in each other's arms and looked into each other's real demon and devil faces, relishing the darkness, and the silence, and maybe the last chance they would have to be this close.


	51. Acting Out A Bit

Dexter and Valerie woke up early enough the next morning that they still had a lot of time to talk about what they'd done the night before. "I'm surprised you're here," he told her and cuddled her close. "I would have thought you'd be gone somewhere by now." He paused and said thoughtfully, "Or maybe not. I know that you've always wanted to feel love and it's always seemed like I'm the one who gives it to you the most. I don't know why, though. I don't know why you accept it."

Valerie scoffed at this. "You don't know what you're talking about!" She exclaimed and pulled away from him a little. "You act like you know what's good for me, but I know better than you do. I've seen all the bad in the world, all of the stuff that's ugly. You're not."

"You saw my demon form last night," Dexter blushed. "I'm not exactly Prince Charming, am I?" He paused and continued ruefully, as he took her hand in his, "even as a human, I'm pretty average. Ugly. Blah. You deserve better."

"Not when the devil appearance Daddy dearest gave me isn't the prettiest," Valerie disputed. "I like being able to show that part of me to someone who isn't afraid." She kissed his cheek. "Don't you feel that way too?"

"Yeah," Dexter nodded. "That _is_ nice. But don't you call yourself ugly. You're pretty, just like your mother!"

"Well, don't you call yourself ugly either if you don't want me to call _myself_ that," Valerie chided. "Promise?"

"Yes," Dexter told her, taking her hand and kissing her fingers. "I promise."

Valerie blushed. "And you wonder why I want to be with you. How can you not see it when you're so sweet, and kind, and loving. And cute and sexy too. Not to mention patient as can be." She blushed. "I know I was a bit out of control at the grocery store, but thank you for not being mad about it."

"Of course!" Dexter brushed her comments aside. "And that was _nothing_ compared to what I've put up with from your dad over the years. You're a total angel compared to him."

Valerie chuckled and gave him a kiss. "That's a bit generous, I think," she told him. "But I'll take it."

"Yeah, you should," Dexter agreed and booped her on the nose. "Now, if we want to get some rest, we should probably do it before your dad shows up. Cause that could lead to a really awkward conversation that will not end well. I don't want to have that conversation, in fact, which is why this last time _was_ the last time and we have to act from now on like we don't care about each other as more than, you know, employer's daughter and employee."

"Do you really think it'll be that bad if Dad finds out?" Valerie asked. "You don't think Dad'll be happy if he finds out about us because he knows you and you're a good person, not just some loser full of lust who doesn't care about anything besides getting under my skirt?"

"Here's the thing about your dad, and it has to do with why you and your brother might feel like you don't get the attention you deserve: your dad was really screwed over in terms of getting the right amount of love and affection when he was growing up. He needs someone around at all times to assure him that he's worth something. For years, that person was me. Now that duty has chiefly been taken over by your mother, but it could still have some effect if your dad thinks that I don't care."

"And him finding out about us will make him think that?" Valerie questioned.

"It's possible," Dexter nodded. "I hope he's secure enough in his relationship with your mother that he can loosen the strings a bit with me, but I know him too well to just assume things will change."

There was a silence and then Valerie shook her head. "It's not fair!" She told him. "I had a good time last night. It was nice and I felt loved and happy, and I will not have it ruined because my dad is a big crybaby! Like you said, he already has Mom to support him. Why should he get you too when I get no one? I don't accept this. I'm not surrendering!"

Dexter then got a horrifying image in his head of being trapped in a horrible tug of war between Lucifer and Valerie. He knew, of course, which way he would go if he actually had a choice, but he knew that he didn't, and which one of them he would have to cater to if things came to that...if he wasn't kicked out of the house first.

"Don't worry," he assured Valerie, giving her a tight hug. "We'll get this all worked out. It might be painful or difficult, and take much longer to sort out than we both deserve, but that'll happen."

"Do you promise?" Valerie questioned, looking deeply into his eyes. "You _better_!"

"Yeah," Dexter nodded. "I promise."

* * *

"Dexter's late for breakfast again," Lucifer remarked a few hours later. "Haven't you noticed that, Eleanor?" He turned and accepted the cup of coffee Ellie handed him. "Not that I'm mad, of course. I'm glad that he's seeing someone. I'd like to meet her. To know who she is!" He looked at Ellie. "Or he. You know I won't judge. Aren't you eager to know too, Eleanor? Aren't you just _dying_ of curiosity?"

"No," Ellie told him as she tried not to let out a nervous laugh. "Not really. Who Dexter takes to bed with him is none of our business."

"Wait!" Lucifer cried, eying Ellie suspiciously. "You know, don't you? You know who he's sleeping with and that's the only reason you don't care! Who is it? Tell me!"

"I don't know who it is!" Ellie said, avoiding his gaze again. "I _thought_ I had an idea, but it's stupid. Nothing I think I should be sharing with you."

"Tell me," Lucifer said firmly. "I think I have the right to know who my daughter is sleeping with."

"Who she may or _may not_ be sleeping with," Ellie corrected. "And why is it that you're so interested all of a sudden? I haven't seen you care one minute about all the women Vincent's had in his bed!"

"Well, yes, but Valerie is..." Lucifer began. "She's a..."

"A girl?" Ellie finished. "Her sexual behavior has to be monitored more carefully because Valerie's a girl and if we're not careful she could end up with someone terrible?"

"Well...yes!" Lucifer nodded. "That's not bad, right? Aren't you happy I'm taking an interest in my children's affairs?"

"You know who you sound like?" Ellie questioned. "You sound like my dads! And I know you hate how much they fuss about us and wish they would leave _us_ alone."

"True, but you and I are different," Lucifer tried to explain.

"Why?" Ellie asked. "Cause the man in question is you?"

"Yes!" Lucifer nodded, bringing both palms down on the table. "Exactly!"

Ellie gave a growl of frustration. "I haven't said a thing to Vincent about his own sexual activities because I thought you would step in and handle it, but apparently, that's giving you more credit than you deserve. If you really want me to be proud of how you're handling our children, discipline Vincent for the same reasons you would discipline Valerie, and then I will be happy. Or leave them both be, I don't care. But don't reinforce some bullshit double standard. That won't make me happy at all!"

Lucifer's jaw dropped. He looked stunned and unsure of what to say for a few seconds, then got out in a whisper, "I can't believe you're talking to me like this."

"You can't?" Ellie questioned. "Well, then, you don't know me as well as you'd like to think. And maybe it was about time that someone did!" They stared at one another, their devil and vampire faces showing. Then Ellie took a deep breath, got up, and dumped her coffee in Lucifer's lap.

"Looks like I need another cup," she told him just as Dexter entered the room.

"Good morning!" He greeted them cheerfully. "Everything okay in here? I ran into Valerie upstairs and she says she's not hungry today."

"Everything's fine with me," Ellie replied. "Although Lucifer had an accident a few seconds ago and hurt himself. You wanna get him an ice pack, please, Dexter?"

"Sure," Dexter nodded and gave her a look, feeling, for the first time, just the tiniest bit afraid of her because his boss was clearly in pain. "Right away, Miss Ellie. I'll get on that."

A few seconds later, they both ended up in the kitchen and she gave him a sweet smile. "I want you to know that Lucifer tried to get me to tell him who you're sleeping with," she said. "But I want to assure you that I didn't say anything. Your secret's safe with me."

"How do you know about my secret?" Dexter asked, his eyes wide. "I thought I was being subtle!"

"You're not," she said. "But don't worry. Like I told you, I'm not gonna say anything."

"Thank you, Miss Ellie," Dexter told he as she left the kitchen and he put some ice in plastic bag to bring to his boss, who was clearly suffering. "Thank you very much."

* * *

Just like his sister, Valerie, Vincent had a misconception that the only way he would be worthy of his parents' attention was if he did something major or naughty. He didn't like his father focusing on Dexter so much. He was just a servant and not worth the time.

To put his father's (and mother's) attention back where it belonged (because clearly the orgies weren't enough of a problem), Vincent decided to explore all the power he possessed and do some big show of magic to make his parents take notice. He found a room in the mansion that was a distance away from the bedrooms, his father's office, or his mother's gym, and set up shop there.

Shortly afterward, his mother paid him a visit in his room. "I want to talk to you," she said.

"Okay," he nodded. "What about?"

"Well, I know we've been lavishing a lot of attention on your sister and just...not toward you, so I thought I would check in." She gave him a grin. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing," he said with a shrug. "I just thought I would experiment with all my powers."

"Well, that's good," Ellie smiled and gave him a hug. "But be careful. Don't hurt yourself."

"I'll be careful," he said, surprised to find out he liked being hugged by her. "I promise."

They pulled apart and she said, "You know, I am proud of you for wanting to explore your powers. That's good. Just make sure you be careful. Between what you got from your dad and what you got from me, it's a lot to deal with."

"I know!" Vincent rubbed his hands together. "That's what makes it so exciting! Especially when I go out and women buzz around me and..." he trailed off, realizing that that wasn't the sort of thing he should be talking about around his mother.

"It's all right," she said. "I know people find you appealing. But orgies, sweetie? In the house?"

"You knew about that?" Vincent asked, having the grace to blush a little. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I thought your father would handle it, since it was the power _he_ gave you that caused it, but apparently, I was wrong."

"So you'll be handling all discipline from now on?" He asked.

"Well, your father seems like he wants to discipline your sister more, so...yes," Ellie nodded. "I'll be looking after you."

"So no more parties for me," Vincent sighed. "Well, it was fun while it lasted."

"I'm not boring!" Ellie said. "I'm not gonna stop you from having fun. I just...I think it would be better for you personally if you just slowed down every once in a while and made deep connections with people and it wasn't just orgies all the time with people whose names you don't know, or who you aren't even gonna recognize in the morning."

"I'll do that eventually," Vincent assured her. "I just have to sow my wild oats first. Make sure I don't miss any pretty women out there."

"And how long will that take?" Ellie scoffed. "Cause it seems like it has taken your father ages!"

"Well, it's not gonna happen tomorrow," Vincent told her. "Something pretty big would have to happen to make me slow down now."

Ellie sighed. "I figured you would say that, but would you at least think about it? For me?"

"Oh, all right," Vincent told her. "I'll think about having a night at home with a book every once in a while."

"Thank you," Ellie told him. "Have you been in the library? It's huge! Maybe I can show you tonight."

"Really?" He smiled. "I would like that. We can talk about my magic and my vampire powers!"

Ellie smiled and nodded. "It's a date."


	52. Giving In To Temptation

**A/N: this is a re-write of chapter 52 with some changes to the end section.**

Vincent had been serious about studying his abilities in the library with his mother. Learning magic wasn't particularly exciting. A lot of it was reading, and when she let him do spells, they were just little things that didn't leave a big impact, like making a spoon move an inch with his mind. He let this go on for a little bit, then, he finally decided to bring it up.

"When do I get to do something _big_?" He asked, trying not to sound too excited, in case his mother got suspicious of his intentions. "Something that'll make a big bang? A big impact?"

"Oh, I don't know if it's a good idea for you to try and do anything big yet," Ellie said, worry pooling in her stomach at his eager face. "I can only do such a good job teaching you. If you really are going to focus your magic and control it, you're going to need a tutor who's more competent than me. But don't worry, I'll put a notice out."

"You will?" Vincent asked, his face brightening as he pushed his dark hair out of his eyes. "Thanks, Mom!"

"You're welcome!" Ellie told him with a grin that exposed her fangs. "Now, if you want to do something a bit more exciting, want to hone your vampire hunting skills by chasing down and feeding on damned people with me?"

"Sure!" Vincent replied. "There are some people at the park by the demon club who engage in sketchy behavior. Let's kill _them_!"

"I don't hunt living people," Ellie told him. "If I do, I'll most likely end up killing them, and then I'll turn into a werewolf because I didn't have anyone around to make my gene dormant."

"Then who in the world are we hunting if we're not hunting live people?" Vincent questioned.

"Well, your father, as a wedding present to me, called up a bunch of damned people that he made deals with and changed their punishment so they had eternal life and I could hunt them every night."

"And that doesn't fall under the category of killing a live person?" Vincent questioned.

"No, apparently not," Ellie shrugged. "Maybe because they died once already. I don't know. All I know is that I haven't turned into a werewolf yet." She paused. "So...you wanna come?"

"Sure!" Vincent nodded. "Do I get to kill someone too? Or am I just watching?"

"Of course you're not just watching," Ellie said and grabbed his hand. "What fun would that be?"

They went into the woods and Ellie said the incantation Lucifer had given her to call her prey forth. The sky grew dark and all of a sudden, not one but _two_ people appeared: a man and a woman. She recognized the woman, but it wouldn't help her case at all. Not that she wouldn't try anyway.

"Please don't kill me," she begged, her dark eyes frightened. "You know your mother wouldn't like it."

"Oh, really?" Ellie replied, her eyes cold. "My mother barely knew you and there was a reason for that: you were a neglectful drunk who only cared about herself!"

"And what's the problem with that?" She asked. Her name was Renee Sharp, and she was Ellie's great grandmother who (thankfully), Ellie had never met. "It's not wrong to care about yourself!"

"It is when it makes you neglect your children!" Ellie spat. "I'm just glad Grandma Christine came away from your house as healthy and well-adjusted as she did, or else I wouldn't have been born!"

"Well, you should also thank my promiscuous behavior for your existence as well!" Renee countered. "If I had remembered my pills that day, you wouldn't have even had a grandmother to begin with."

"What's going on?" Vincent questioned. "Do you always argue with your food?"

"No, not always," Ellie shook her head and crossed her arms. " _This_ , however, is an unpleasant exception. She's family. At least by blood anyway."

"Oh, so we shouldn't kill her?" Vincent asked.

"No, it's fine that we do!" Ellie assured him. "But you can have her." She turned her gaze to Renee one last time. "This is my son, Vincent," she told her. "He's going to be killing you tonight. And maybe every night. I don't know. I hope that infallible liver Lucifer gave you was worth it."

She then grinned as Vincent took after Renee with enthusiasm, watching until the two of them disappeared into the trees, then turning her attention on her own prey, who'd thought that, with her attention averted, he could just sneak away. "Oh, no, you don't!" She whispered, speeding over to him and grabbing him by the throat before throwing him against a tree. "You're not gonna sneak away from me. Wherever you go, I will find you. That's how this works. And when I do..." she chuckled. "Boy will it hurt!" She then stepped back, baring her teeth. "I'm feeling generous tonight so I'm going to give you a five second head start." She began counting and the man took off, and when she got to five, she discovered that he'd actually done a good job of hiding.

"Wonderful," she chuckled to herself as she thought about what the man's blood would taste like. Probably like red wine. He looked like the sort of guy who drank a lot of it while he ate big bowls of pasta in Italian restaurants, even though he was slim rather than chubby and the dark eyes under his thinning gray hair were beady. "I _love_ a challenge."

* * *

He had thought she had been kidding at first, but Vincent quickly learned that his mother was serious about making sure he didn't do anything impulsive or dangerous with his newfound power since she knew that was exactly what he wanted to do. She didn't follow him around or anything, but she kept all the magic tools locked up and made sure that only she had the key to access them.

But one day, Lucifer called her up and said that he needed her help at work. Always eager to assist him when she could, she grabbed her keys and gave a warning to Valerie, who was eating candy on the sofa. "Would you make sure your brother doesn't get into the library?" She asked. "It's important to me that he doesn't make any mistakes with his magic. Oh, and we should start teaching you soon. You wanna learn?"

"Okay," Valerie shrugged. "And don't worry. I'll make sure my brother doesn't get into trouble."

"Thank you!" Ellie told her. But once she was gone, what Valerie told Vincent was, "Mom just left to go to the office with Dad. You're not supposed to go in the library, but it's not like I can stop you, right?"

"Are you serious about Mom being gone?" Vincent asked. "You're not making that up as a joke, are you? She's not gonna pop out when I reach the library and scold me for trying to be sneaky?"

"No," Valerie shook her head. "She's gone, I promise. I saw her leave. But if you're gonna blow stuff up, do it in the yard. If the half the house is missing, it'll be a dead giveaway that you broke the rules."

Vincent just glared at her. "What do you think I am, an idiot? Of course I know that if I burn the house down or something, it'll be obvious that I broke the rules. I'm gonna do the stuff in the yard. And you're not my minder. Don't tell me what to do."

"Mom said I was in charge, so technically, you have to do what I say," Valerie told him. "I'm older than you are."

"And you know what I have to say to that?" Vincent asked and snatched what was left of her Snicker's bar out of her hand and stuffing it in his own mouth. "Only by three minutes. Drop dead."

"Well, that was unnecessarily _rude!"_ Valerie shouted after him. "If something bad happens to you while you're messing around with magic, don't come crying to me. I'm probably not gonna be in the mood to help you at all!"

"I'm not gonna _need_ your help!" Vincent shouted back. "I can handle things by myself. I think I've been working with Mom enough now."

It took a few trips but he managed to get everything he needed out into the yard, then set things up, looking through the book for the first spell that sounded interesting.

He picked it out and said it. But nothing happened. He tried it again, and again...still nothing. Finally, he screamed it, not even knowing what he was trying to accomplish. That was when there was a loud boom, followed by a terrible noise like nails on a chalkboard, and then a blinding flash as a burst of power sent him flying into a tree . He shrieked, felt his head _hit_ the tree, then lay convulsing for a little while on the ground before everything was dark and silent after that. He knew no more.

Of course there was no way that what he'd done had gone unnoticed and soon, both Valerie and Kai (who'd sneaked out of the kitchen and was eating a sandwich while standing beside the mansion) were standing over Vincent's unconscious body.

"Oh, my...what in the...what do we do?" She asked, giving Kai a rough shake. "He's got blood coming out of his ears! He's unconscious! What if he's _dead!"_

"Oh, I'm sure he's not dead," Kai assured her. "There's a pulse, even if it's weak. You stay here by him in case he wakes up. Call an ambulance. I'll go tell your parents."

"Okay," Valerie nodded. "Thank you, Kai."

"You're welcome," Kai replied. "Your parents are at your dad's office, right?"

"Yeah," Valerie nodded. "They are."

Kai then zapped himself there while Valerie clutched her brother's hand and tried not to cry. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't want anything bad to happen to you. When I said I wouldn't help you if something bad happened, I didn't mean it. Please don't be dead, Vincent. Please don't be dead."

* * *

Lucifer and Ellie were unaware of the crisis happening at home, of course, and were thoroughly engaged in work.

"I have to say, I'm very pleased you chose to wear pants today," he told her about her gray and white pinstripe slacks. "They...they look good on you. And that lavender turtleneck."

"Thanks," Ellie replied. "You sounded like this was serious business so I didn't want to dress like I would if we were acting out a boss/secretary fantasy."

"Oh, that's a good one!" Lucifer grinned. "We should do that at some point!"

"Now that I've sorted your files and written out that letter for you, what next?" She asked.

"Now we have the main reason you came," Lucifer replied and opened a drawer and pulled out a slip of paper. "I have a proposal for you. A serious one."

"What sort of proposal?" Ellie asked, sitting in his desk chair and crossing one leg over the other as she read the paper he placed in front of her.

"I have a job that I need done that I think you'd be well-suited for," he told her. "I need you to be my emissary back to hell while I manage things up here. I thought I could leave the demons to handle it, but I brought the best ones with me, so things in Hell have become, well...hell."

"What a shame," Ellie sighed. "Sure, I can manage that." She paused. "But I wouldn't have to move down there, would I? I could go down there, do my thing, and then come back?"

"Of course!" Lucifer assured her. "I wouldn't send you if it would mean you weren't coming back!"

"Okay, good," Ellie nodded. "I think I can deal with that, then." She grinned. "It'll be so nice to have something to actually _do_ with myself now that the kids are grown. I mean, I was doing fine at the house, but..."

"I noticed that you seemed a like you were having some cabin fever," Lucifer agreed. "That's one of the reasons I thought you wouldn't mind having this job."

"What do you need me to do first?" Ellie questioned.

"The thing that will get you a lot of grumbles and moans," he told her. "Well, at least that's what happened to Dexter and me when we tried to do it: census time! So I know everyone who's down there. It might take awhile. Or maybe not. People like you, so they might not fuss." He then grabbed her and kissed her as she turned to go. "Thanks for the help," he told her. "I mean it, really, Eleanor."

"You're welcome, handsome," Ellie smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm glad to be of help."

But they started kissing again until they heard Kai's voice. "Sorry to interrupt the make-out session," he told them. "But something's happened to Vincent. He's hurt, so you better come home with me."

"Oh, my god!" Ellie cried and burst into tears after collapsing in Lucifer's arms. "I knew I shouldn't have left him home unsupervised with all the magic tools. The temptation was too much and now he's hurt! My son is hurt and could be _dying_ , and it's my fault!"

"It's not your fault," Lucifer told her. His grip on her was tight and so was his voice as he picked her up and carried her out of the office a few steps behind Kai. He then zapped them home where they found Valerie, whose face was wet and mascara-stained.

"Dexter went with Vincent to the hospital," she said. "He told me to stay here and wait for you, and then come."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "I assume they went to the demon hospital?"

"Yeah," Valerie nodded. "That's where they went." Then she began crying too. "Oh, Daddy, it was so terrible. He was bleeding and not moving at all, and I'm just so _scared!"_

Between Ellie, who was sobbing in his arms, and Valerie, who was sobbing beside him, Lucifer was in a practically unfamiliar place. Ordinarily, he would ask Eleanor to comfort their daughter, since he was used to receiving comfort and encouragement rather than giving it, but that wasn't an option this time. "It'll be all right," he told her, making his way to Valerie and kissing her hair. "Your brother might not get away from this unscathed, but I'm certain he's not dead."

"We should get to the hospital so we can see him!" Ellie said. "What are we standing around here for? He could be awake and scared and...we have to go!"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Yes we do!"

They arrived at the hospital soon after that and after explaining why they were there, they were directed to Vincent's room and a few minutes later, a doctor joined them.

"Good, you're here," he told them, his voice calm. "I told Dexter to go get a coffee and that I would tell you what's happened."

"He's not dead, is he?" Ellie asked as Lucifer put her on her feet and helped steady her.

"No, and that's the good news," the doctor replied. "He was hit with a lot of power from whatever he was doing before his accident and that knocked him out, but it's not gonna kill him. However, the bad news is that it destroyed his hearing. He's deaf now. That'll require some adjustment, but you'll still have him with you."

"And there's absolutely no way to fix this?" Lucifer questioned as he came over and stared down at his son, who looked much better because the blood had been cleaned off him and he had some of his color back. But he'd been sedated while his body healed because the magic he'd been dealing with had really packed a wallop.

"Are you sure that he's gonna wake up and be okay?" Ellie asked the doctor desperately.

"Yes," he promised her. "He will."

Then he left them alone with Vincent and Valerie took her mother's hand. "I'm sorry this happened," she said. "I was supposed to look after him and not let him get into the magic stuff. When I told him that, I was too flippant. I should have been more vigilante!"

"It's not your fault!" Ellie told her firmly. "It's not your responsibility to look after your brother that way and I should have known that he was going to try and take advantage of the fact that I was gone to get some more practice in."

"This is no one's fault," Lucifer told them. "Temptation is always around and people aren't always strong enough to resist it. What happened happened and I hope Vincent learns a lesson from it. It won't do us any good to dwell on it. The best way to help him is to focus on the future, not dwell on the past."

"You're right," Ellie nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lucifer said, hugging his wife and daughter close. "You're welcome, my dears."

* * *

Vincent's newfound deafness put a lot of stress on both his parents, although they made sure to let him know that none of it was his fault.

"But how are we supposed to communicate with him now since he can't hear us?" Lucifer asked as he waved his hands around wildly. "I can't do that talking thing with my hands! And it seems silly to just write everything down all the time and leave sticky notes all over the house. That's not a long term solution!"

"Well, I don't know sign language either, but fortunately, we can learn," Ellie said and wiped her eyes. She had been sniffling, but hearing Lucifer panic just made her calm. "I'll go put a notice on the internet and we can find someone that way."

"Oh, don't be silly!" Lucifer told her. "Do you really think we can wait that long to be able to have a real conversation with our son? I'm not waiting that long! There's a school for the deaf down the street. Why don't I just borrow someone from there?"

"And when you say 'borrow', you mean 'kidnap', right?" Ellie asked. "No! I forbid you to kidnap someone, even if it _is_ to help give Vincent a voice. If we're gonna do this, it's gonna be the normal, _legal_ way."

She left and Lucifer followed her out. "All right," he said. "Whatever you say. I'm gonna go take a walk to clear my head."

"All right," Ellie nodded. "Don't wander too far. I'm gonna go lie down." She knew that that was a bad idea. She knew that Lucifer's walk was going to end with him bringing home a teacher from the deaf school against their will. But now she was just too drained to care. She got to her bedroom, lay down on the bed, and shut her eyes as the tension finally drained from her body. It felt good, even though she sensed it was only going to last a little while. She'd take whatever peace she could get, since it seemed to be in short supply these days.

She managed to get an hour or so of shut-eye before she was shaken awake and saw Vincent standing over her with a pad of paper, which he showed to her. It read, **I'm sorry.**

Ellie shook her head and took the pad as Vincent came and sat beside her, his arms around her, his head resting on her shoulder. **I know you are,** she wrote back. **Please tell me you won't do anything like this again.**

 **No** , Vincent reassured her. **Do I still get a magic tutor?**

 **Yes,** Ellie wrote. **Your dad and I are also going to get someone to teach us all sign language cause that's a more efficient way to talk than writing everything down. Would you like that?**

 **Yes,** Vincent grinned as he finished the word with a flourish. **I hope Dad finds me a pretty tutor.**

Ellie took the pad and looked at the last sentence, then burst into laughter, a wonderful feeling of release. There he was, she thought as she put her arms around him. There was her son, in that sentence. He may be deaf, but he was still Vincent, just as much like his dad as ever.

* * *

As Ellie suspected, Lucifer's 'walk' consisted of him striding down the street to the school for the deaf and find someone who could help tutor his son. Vincent would probably want a pretty girl. He was torn between obeying his son's wishes and just grabbing the first woman he saw so that he could get home and possibly stem any suspicions Eleanor might have about what he'd been up to. He figured that she knew what he was up. She always did, no matter how sneaky he tried to be. It was _really_ inconvenient. Finally, he just grabbed the first woman he saw. She had brown hair that was put up in a messy bun and a badly fitting dress. Vincent wouldn't be happy, but in this situation, his needs trumped Vincent's. He got hold of her and thought it would be easy to get her in the car from there, but she was much more of a fighter than he'd realized. She bit him and kicked him and stomped on his foot. At one point, she even managed to get free and run off.

"You get back here!" He yelled. When he got hold of her, he held her tight and whispered in her ear. "We can do this the hard way, or the easy way," he told her. "You can either come with me and teach my son sign language, or I'll kill you. Take your pick." It didn't occur to him that she couldn't hear him

Finally, he knocked her out and stuck her in the backseat of his car, grateful for the silence and groaning at the bite marks on his hand. She'd also managed to rip his sleeve too. And he'd just bought the shirt he was wearing. He was glad that he wasn't feeling motivated to be gentle with her. He'd have to be rough if he wanted her to stay at home, be a tutor for Vincent and not run off. Eleanor wouldn't like it, but that's how it would have to be.

Eventually, there was a racket coming from the living room after a long silence. Both Ellie and Vincent made their way in that direction and found Lucifer struggling to get inside as a brown-haired young woman in a purple dress fought to get away from him.

"Let me guess," Ellie replied and helped her get free. "This is her, Lucifer. This is the tutor? I knew that your 'walk' was just about going to kidnap someone to bring here! She's probably terrified and I bet she thinks we're crazy!"

The woman made a bunch of frantic, angry hand motions that they were sure meant something unpleasant, but they weren't sure what.

Ellie went and got the pad and wrote, **Sorry about this. We won't hurt you.**

The woman took the pad and wrote, **You already did! What's going on? Why am I here?**

Ellie wrote back, **My son is deaf and we all need to learn sign language to talk to him. Will you help us, please?**

 **Are you crazy?** The woman wrote. **I don't want to help you! Why should I? This jerk kidnapped me, knocked me out, threw me in his car, and dragged me here. You don't deserve my help!**

"We should let her go!" Ellie told Lucifer. "I told you that this wasn't the way to go. I hope you'll let me hire someone the right way now!"

"No!" Lucifer shook his head. "She's staying here! If not to teach Vincent, I still want to hurt her a little!" He showed Ellie the bite mark on his hand and his ripped sleeve. "Look what she did to me! I'm not just letting that go!"

But first, he pushed her toward Vincent and asked Ellie to write on the the pad to Vincent what he thought of the woman.

Vincent looked her over and scowled. He thought her dress fit badly, her hair was a mess, and she wasn't exactly pretty. What had his father been thinking? Of all the women he could have picked as a sign language tutor, this was _it?_ He was extremely disappointed.

 **What's your name?** Ellie wrote on the pad to the woman, trying to ease the tension in the room, even though she wasn't sure that was possible. She gave her a smile and the woman didn't smile back.

When she didn't respond, Lucifer just looked at the name tag on her sweater. "Lauren Jane Lambert," he said. "There you go, Eleanor."

 **How boring!** Vincent wrote. **A perfect name for a woman with bad hair and a boring outfit. I don't want her as a tutor, Dad. If you want to torture her, go ahead."**

"All right," Lucifer told him after reading the message. "Whatever you say, son."

"Let her go!" Ellie pleaded. "If you're gonna put her somewhere, at least let her walk there."

"All right," Lucifer nodded and let her go. "Hold her hand, Eleanor. I know she'll run off otherwise."

Ellie sighed. "This is not the way to treat a person," she said severely. "Not the way at all." She caught Lauren's hand and they marched to the room that Lucifer picked out for her. Coincidentally, it was Ellie's extra bedroom.

"Why here?" Ellie asked him. "Why do you want to put her in my spare room?"

"Well, since you want so badly to protect her and keep her company, Eleanor...you do, don't you...since you want to protect her so badly, I want to put her in the room where you're most likely gonna be for who knows how long since you probably don't want to sleep with me after I've done this."

"That's true," Ellie conceded. "I'll think about it."

Instead of getting in the bed, though, Lauren just sat on the floor with her back against the bed, her face stern.

"Well, this is going well," Lucifer sighed. "How should we coddle her now, Eleanor?"

"Let her go!" Ellie repeated through her teeth. "Do it, Luci!"

"Don't use nicknames to try and soften me," Lucifer told her. "She's staying right where she is, and you are leaving. Maybe it wouldn't be good to have you here after all." He carried Ellie out of the room as she screamed and beat him on the back. Vincent stayed in the room and used his powers to zap up rope and a gag, then tied her up and gagged her (not that that did a lot of good, but he wanted to be thorough. After she was tied up tight and gagged, Vincent left her alone, tossing a note on her lap. **Sorry it wouldn't have worked between us,** it said. **But you're just not pretty enough.**

Then he changed his mind, an idea in his head. Sensing that it would irritate her if he kissed her, Vincent put the fact that she was repulsed by him aside and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which led to her spitting on his cheek. He wiped it off and just laughed at her.

Then he locked the door behind him, and Lauren was left alone in a house full of crazy people with nothing to do but try and find a way out.


	53. I Love You Anyway

"I'm so glad to see you!" Ellie told her aunt Selina when they ran into each other in the break room of the office. "We need to talk."

"About what?" Selina questioned. She mostly helped Dorian with his work, even when Lucifer wanted her to do a little more because of their previous history. "Troubles at home? Insight into your boss? I'm a lot like him, you know. I could help."

"No, you are not a lot like him!" Ellie said. "He does stuff you would never do! Like kidnap an innocent woman and force her to tutor your deaf son in sign language on pain of death, for instance."

"He did that?" Selina asked in surprise. "Wow. I'm impressed. I thought he would have stopped that because he wants you to have a good opinion of him. That's what I did for years when Elijah and I were married."

"Well, that's what I thought he was doing too, but out of nowhere...kidnapping," Ellie scoffed. "And I...I'm struggling with how to deal with it. Impulse says yell and scream, but another part says...be patient. Be understanding. Figure out what motivated this, or I'm gonna be just as bad as the people in the past who've totally tossed him aside for misbehaving. I want him to trust me. I don't want him to think that I don't love him. It might be crazy, but I do."

"You can disapprove of his behavior and still love him," Selina pointed out. "I mean, think about how much your parents hate the fact that you and Lucifer are married and that you had kids with him. Yet they still came to your wedding."

"You know, you're right," Ellie nodded.

"Yep. And I've done all sorts of crap that my dad wouldn't approve of and he still puts up with me anyway," Selina continued, then paused and put her red coffee cup on the counter before saying, "Although that might be because he still harbors a lot of guilt about how if he'd actually been there for me, I wouldn't have done any of the behavior he hates in the first place so it's karma that he has to put up with it." She shrugged. "Who knows?" She leaned forward. "What does Lucifer have you doing here?" She asked. "It's an actual job, right?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I'm doing all the stuff in hell that he's too busy to do. I have to go get the census taken after I'm done with my coffee."

"Well, make sure to wear sunscreen so you don't get burned," Selina remarked. "Or at least take some burn ointment along."

"I'll remember that," Ellie told her, then poured her coffee, drank it, told her aunt goodbye, and went on her way.

* * *

Lucifer had no doubt that Ellie could handle Hell, but when she didn't get back in a timely manner after getting the census taken, he started to get worried. He was just about to go down after her when she strode through his office door, a smile on her face and a pile of paper in her arms.

"I'm very pleased to see you're back in one piece," he told her. "I was getting worried and about to come after you. No one gave you trouble, did they?"

"Oh, no," Ellie shook her head. "Of course not. After I got what I came for, they wanted me to stay. It took the longest time to convince them to let me leave."

"I'm happy for you," he huffed. They'd never been that appreciative of _him. "_ So...how are the numbers? Anything I need to work on tempting people with more than other things?"

"No," Ellie sighed. "All the percentages are high for each one." She shook her head. "I really want to work with the slothful and the gluttonous, you know. Cause there's a way to _fix_ that, if you just take the time. Or improve quality of life, anyway."

"They don't _have_ quality of life!" Lucifer reminded her. "If they're in hell, they're already dead! Already past caring. There's nothing you can do for them once you see them down there."

"I know it. I get it..." Ellie assured him. "But seriously, it's a real damn shame. All that potential wasted."

"Well, yes, but it keeps us in business, so it's not _all_ terrible," Lucifer reminded her, his dark eyes glinting as he grinned widely. "Can't have to good without the bad, can you?"

"No," Ellie rolled her eyes, put the papers down on the desk and began pacing. "What do you want me to do now?"

"I would like you to come and eat something with me," he told her. "You haven't yet, have you? Aren't you hungry?"

Ellie stopped pacing as her stomach growled loudly. "You know, I didn't even think of that," she said. "I was so caught up in work that I forgot about eating!"

"It's a good thing I'm here," he told her. "I don't want you to starve! Did you have blood this morning?"

"Yes, I did," Ellie said. "And I forgot to tell you that before the big kaboom happened, I took Vincent on his first hunting trip and I have to say, he's got a real aptitude for it. I was impressed."

"Wonderful," Lucifer grinned as they made their way out to his car and she sat in the back while he took the driver's seat. "I'm glad to hear that."

"And I ran into my great-grandma on our little hunting trip," Ellie added. "When were you gonna tell me that she was one of the people you picked?"

"I didn't think I would _need_ to tell you," Lucifer informed her. "I thought it would be obvious. I thought you would enjoy taking a bite out of the bad apple on the family tree. Although I have to thank her, because I think some of that wickedness has passed on to you in a much less destructive way."

"Maybe," Ellie shrugged. "I don't know."

They drove in silence for a bit, heading toward home, and then Lucifer remarked, "I am very pleased about the mood you're in today. I thought all I would hear is scolding about our new house guest. It's nice you've forgiven me and are able to see my point of view."

"Well, I haven't entirely forgiven you," Ellie told him. "I still think that what you did was wrong, and I'm gonna be watching Lauren very carefully to make sure nothing bad happens to her. I might even let her go so we can, like I said before, go about the Vincent issue the right way. But I see no point in scolding you about it since apparently, you're incapable of feeling shame. Yelling at you would do no good and it would just make us both miserable."

"Yes it would," Lucifer agreed, drumming his hands on the steering wheel. "So perceptive of you to pick up on that. So what are you going to do instead?"

"It's Friday, right?" Ellie said, leaning forward, her arms around the back of his chair as she whispered to him with her lips against his ear. "How about, after work, we find a nice hotel somewhere and we just stay the weekend?"

"Oh, I _like_ this!" Lucifer grinned. "You're just gonna run off and leave everyone at home to their own devices? What about protecting Lauren, since that's so important to you?"

"You know Dexter's a lot more sensitive and full of morals than you are," Ellie pointed out. "I have complete faith in him to do right by her for a couple of days."

"Yes, indeed," Lucifer agreed. "If you need someone trustworthy to get a job done, Dexter's your demon. I know he would never keep a secret from me."

"No," Ellie shook her head and began coughing. "Of course not." Obviously, Lucifer hadn't figured out about Dexter and Valerie and Dexter hadn't told him so thank her father-in-law. She needed a little time to prepare before that happened.

"Are you okay?" Lucifer asked. "Are you choking? Do I need to pull over and come back there?"

"No, no," Ellie assured him when she could talk again. "Something just went down the wrong pipe. I'm good now, but thanks for caring."

"Of course," Lucifer nodded and turned his attention back to the road. "Why wouldn't I care?"

"Of course you would, but it's nice to see you so open about it," Ellie told him with a smile. "I know that's hard for you sometimes."

"Not when it comes to you, it isn't," Lucifer assured her.

* * *

When they got home, the first thing they encountered was what seemed to be Dexter, Vincent, and Lauren having a tussle in the entryway.

"Dexter, what happened here?" Ellie asked him.

"She managed to get herself free and _he_ -" he tilted his head at Vincent, who had a bloody nose that was dripping onto his white shirt and scowled. "He just won't let her go, so I'm trying to make sure she doesn't get hurt too badly."

"Stop worrying about her!" Vincent cried as his parents looked on in surprise. He could still talk, but his voice sounded a bit different now. "Look at how she's hurting me!"

"That's your own fault!" Ellie chided him. "Everyone separate and stop beating each other up!"

"And Vincent, have you been able to talk this whole time and just took pleasure in making us write everything down?" Lucifer wanted to know.

"No," Vincent shook his head. "I didn't know I could until I tried."

"Well, that's good," Lucifer told him and patted him on the shoulder. "Good for you." Then, he looked at Ellie. "Let's eat now that we have this all sorted out."

"Just a minute," Ellie told him. "I have to do something really quick first. Go to the kitchen and I'll join you." She looked at Vincent. "And can I trust you to amuse yourself in a responsible way?" She asked. "Or does someone need to watch you every minute?"

"I'll be good," he sighed and stomped away with Dexter following after him. Then, she looked at Lauren, pulled out the pad, and wrote, **I'm surprised you're still here.**

 **I've been trying to get away,** she wrote back. **As you can see. But you seem nicer than everyone else. Will you help me?**

Ellie sighed. **I don't know how long it will take. But I'll do my best. You should have never ended up here anyway.**

Lauren read her message, smiled, and gave her a hug.

 **I still don't like a lot of people here,** she finished. **And I won't make it easy on them. But you're nice. Thank you for helping me.**

 **You're welcome** , Ellie finished and then led Lauren to her much more comfortable second bedroom.

 **This is where I go when my husband and I are fighting and I want peace and quiet,** she wrote, making a note to go to the bookstore and get some books on sign language because communicating like this was getting ridiculous. **You might be more comfortable here. And you'll see me a lot. I'll look after you if you need it.**

Lauren smiled. **I'm doing better than I was,** she said. **But it'll still be nice to have a friendly face around.**

Ellie then left her to look around and finally went to join Lucifer in the dining room.

"There you are!" He proclaimed, getting to his feet as she entered. "I was beginning to think you weren't coming!"

"Well, I had to show Lauren to her new, more comfortable room," Ellie told him. "But now I'm here, so don't you pick a fight with me."

"You're right," Lucifer nodded and sat back down again. "I'm sorry." He pushed a plate toward her. "While you were gone, I made up some sandwiches!"

"You can cook?" Ellie asked. "Or make food?" She took a bite of a sandwich, her eyes widened, and she grinned. "How long have you been keeping this talent a secret from me?"

"I am a man of _many_ talents, Eleanor," he grinned. "And if you were absolutely serious about getting a hotel room for the weekend, I know I'll be showing off quite a few of them. Just a question, though: you're still doing all that yoga, right? You're good and limber? Cause with what I have in mind, that's a necessity."

"Well, duh!" Ellie nodded. "Of course!"

And with that, they rushed through eating their sandwiches and after telling Dexter what they were doing and yelling at Vincent to behave himself (even though it would do no good), they headed out in search of a nice hotel in which to spend the weekend after calling the office and letting everyone know they could go home a little early, which of course made everyone happy. They were gonna have a very productive office Monday morning.

* * *

"So glad it didn't take long for us to find a room," Ellie panted as Lucifer carried her though the hotel room door, placed her on the floor, and she immediately began kissing him and pulling at his clothes. "I was getting impatient!"

Lucifer cupped her bottom and pulled her tight against him, whispering, "Now that we're no longer working, can I tell you how much I appreciate what your ass looks like in the pants you wear to the office? They're always so snug!"

"Oh, I know!" Ellie nodded, gasping as he nibbled on her earlobe. "I figure I could give you a little bit of a visual treat, right? And speaking of a visual treat-" She deftly undid the buttons on his shirt and pushed it onto the floor. "Lookie what I get to see!" She giggled and ran her red-painted fingers down his torso, shaking her hair under his nose as she did so. The scent of her hair alone would have done the job of arousing him, but in combination with everything else...he _definitely_ was.

They began kissing each other furiously until Ellie paused. "Gotta go put the 'Do not disturb' sign on the door," she panted. "Cause we definitely _do not_ want to be disturbed."

It was while she did that that Lucifer undressed so when she turned around, she found him grinning and completely naked. "Well," she said, after staring with a dropped jaw for a bit. "Suddenly, I feel overdressed." She sidled up to him. "Wanna help me with that?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded and got her to the bed, where he undressed her and they got under the covers. It didn't take him long to begin pleasuring her with his tongue and then bury himself inside her. "Always."

* * *

"I was just wondering," Dexter told Valerie when he found her in the bowling alley playing a game by herself, "if you had any plans tonight?"

"Why are you asking?" Valerie questioned. "I thought we were done having plans together. I thought you said it was too dangerous."

"Well, there's more of a risk than I'd like when your father is around, but he and your mother have decided to go to a hotel for the weekend," Dexter explained. "So if you'd like, this would be a good chance for us to..."

"Yes!" She cried, not letting him finish as she took a running leap and kissed him soundly when he caught her. "Yes, I'll spend the night having sex with you! Why the hell not?"

"Nice to know you don't play hard to get," Dexter chuckled, reveling in her body warmth.

"Oh, I do," Valerie corrected. "You wouldn't believe how hard some people have to work to at least _think_ they have a chance. But then again, that would only be when I'm working for Dad and I would _never_ mess with you like that. You mean too much to me."

"I do?" Dexter asked. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Valerie nodded. "Now, I only have a few frames left in my game and then we can go to my room." She paused. "Or would you rather we used yours?"

"Let's not use either!" Dexter suggested after giving it a lot of thought. "You know your father likes to burst into both of our rooms without announcing himself. If we have a room where he won't go, that could at least delay him finding out about us."

"I'm surprised you're so willing to keep this from him," Valerie said. "I would have thought you'd want to tell him."

"I do," Dexter nodded. "I know by now that nothing good comes from keeping things from him, but I also know that by telling him, it might mean we'll be separated. I'm just trying to hold on to something good for as long as I can." He grinned.

Valerie grinned back. "I get it. I got no problem with that."

They finished the game and then headed upstairs, picking an empty bedroom and making a note of it so they could come back to it in the future.

"What do we do now?" Dexter questioned. "I know I was more on the ball last time, but...now I don't know."

"I want you to dance for me," Valerie told him after stripping down to her panties and bra and climbing onto the bed. "That's what I want. Will you do it? Please?"

Dexter sighed. She looked so eager and so beautiful, but if he did what she asked, she was just going to be disappointed. "I don't know," he said, blushing. "If I do it, you might hate it. You know in my demon form, I'm not exactly-"

"I don't care what form you do it in," she told him. "If doing it in human form would make you more comfortable, that's fine."

"Oh...okay," Dexter nodded. "But even so, you might still be disappointed."

"I don't think so," Valerie shook her head, her eyes sparkling. "Just give yourself a shot." She zapped in a radio, and as loud music blared, Dexter began to dance. First, he was self-conscious, but the fact that she didn't look horrified or disgusted gave him confidence, and he got the courage to strip down so he was in his underwear by the end of the song.

"See anything you like?" He asked, climbing into bed with her and taking her in his arms.

"I see _some_ things I like," she grinned. "But you're gonna have to take your boxers off so I can see the rest."

"Valerie!" He blushed. "How can you say that?"

"How can I not!" Valerie grinned and ruffled his hair. "Come on, get 'em off!"

"Oh, all right," he said and tossed them by the bed, looking up in awe as she straddled him and leaned forward to kiss his neck while he went inside her. This beautiful woman wanted him bad. He still was a little confused about why, but he wouldn't object. That would be stupid. He would just kiss her instead. He had no problem with that.


	54. Going To The Mat

Lauren woke up one morning to find a newspaper and note under her bedroom door, courtesy of Ellie. It didn't take long for her to find out why she'd been given this particular section: on the second page, there was an article about her kidnapping and how a police search was underway for her. That made her feel a bit better about everything, along with the fact that Ellie hadn't lied when she'd said she'd make sure no harm would come to Lauren herself. Thus assured that she would soon be getting out of this place, a sense of calm overwhelmed her. She opened the door to leave and go down to breakfast, gasping and stepping back when she saw Vincent standing in her doorway with a smirk on his face and his arms crossed.

Lauren gave him a push to try and make him move, but Vincent was more solid than he seemed and every attempt to move him just made him smirk at her, which in turn pissed her off more and more. She then backed up as he made his way into the room, circling her without blinking. She had no idea what he was trying to do. Or maybe she did. He wanted to freak her out. Intimidate her. Try and scare her. But that wouldn't work. She watched him for a few seconds, then tried to evade him and run out the door. But he was too clever. He sped to the door ahead of her and blocked it, laughing at her for real now. A glint in his eye. He really looked like he was enjoying himself.

She went and got the pad of paper and pen that Ellie had left by her bed, furiously writing out, **What are you doing? Let me out! I want to go eat!**

 **I'll let you out,** Vincent returned. **But you won't be walking out of here, that's for sure.**

 **How else would I get out?** Lauren returned.

He grinned widely and finally stepped away from the door, showing her another note that said, **I'm so glad you asked** , before he picked her up, put her over his shoulder, and carried her down to the dining room as she kicked her feet and pounded on his back with her fists. He didn't put her down however til his mother, staring at him with disapproval, told him he had to.

 **What did you do that for?** Ellie questioned.

 **I felt like it** , Vincent shrugged and held the paper up for his mother to see. **Messing with the stupid human is fun!**

 **You should be nice to her** , Ellie wrote back after heaving a huge sigh. **She's not here to be your plaything. She's here to help you learn how to communicate better. She's here to help you and because of that, she deserves respect.**

Vincent's face screwed up. **But why, Mom?** He scribbled angrily. **She's just a dumb human!**

That was when Ellie lost her temper and used her magic to make him rise up off the floor and sit down in a chair while Lauren looked at her in both fear and admiration...but made sure to grin widely when she caught Vincent's eye. He was pouting because he clearly was not so high and mighty now, was he?

Lucifer and Valerie both watched this display silently and when Lucifer opened his mouth to protest on his son's behalf, Ellie shook her head. "Don't even think about saying what I think you're gonna say. Just keep eating. That would be a better idea."

Father and daughter gave one another a look and then went back to their breakfasts, with the rest of the meal going reasonably peacefully, something Ellie, at least, was grateful for.

But there was no doubt that being scolded in front of Lauren had left Vincent feeling deeply humiliated and hurt, and he was _not_ going to let her forget that. He wouldn't let her have a moment's peace.

* * *

Later in the day, he came after her when she was reading peacefully in the garden. She couldn't hear the birds, of course, but the flowers were nice and it wasn't a cold day. Then, out of nowhere, her book was snatched out of her hands and she looked up to see Vincent yelling at her, saying all sorts of horrible words about how he had humiliated her and how stupid she was and how she was gonna pay for making him look like a fool.

But she remained calm in the face of the onslaught, even when he pushed her off her bench and onto the ground and then laughed at her so hard that he nearly fell over himself. Then she got to her feet and waited for his glee to die down before taking a deep breath and actually speaking, even if it was something she didn't usually do because it made her somewhat self conscious. But now she just didn't care. She was mad at this jackass and it would take more than hand motions for her to properly express just how much.

She started with giving him a slap on one cheek then on the other. That shocked him. It shocked him _even more_ when she began yelling. Not that what she had to say was something that _needed_ to be yelled, but still, it felt damn good!

"I'm not sorry your mother humiliated you!" She said. "You deserved it, you jackass! She's right, you should show me some consideration and if you can't, just don't say anything at all! I don't even know _why_ I'm at this house with you people! You _clearly_ don't think I'm worth anything, although from the looks of things, I'm smarter than you are. Now how about instead of throwing a tantrum about getting in trouble for something you actually did wrong, you stop acting like a jerk and let me help you learn something? I don't really want to, but as long as I'm stuck here, it'll pass the time."

Vincent shook his head. All he'd seen was her mouth going up and down. She'd been talking so fast and yelling so much that he hadn't made out a word, but it was obvious she was angry.

 **What?** He wrote.

When she saw it, she rolled her eyes and wrote back.

 **I'm not sorry about making you look bad in front of your mom. You acted like a jerk and you deserved what she did. But since I'm stuck here, if you're nice to me, I** _ **might**_ **be willing to help you so it doesn't happen again. All you have to do is tell me you're sorry.**

Vincent scowled at this. How come she knew what he was saying, but he couldn't figure out what _she_ was saying? It was annoying, but he wouldn't expose this weakness he had. He wouldn't let her know that she knew something he didn't.

"Never," he told her, pulling her tight against his body. "That's just not my style." Then he handed her the book he'd dropped on the ground and walked away, and as he did so, Lauren was glad that he couldn't see her taking in the sight of his bottom. That was her own little secret.

* * *

"I hope you read the paper today," Ellie told Lucifer. "Law enforcement is looking for Lauren. They'll probably be on our doorstep any day now. What do you plan to do when that happens?"

She sat on his desk and stared at him. "Tell me. I'm eager to know."

"My dear Eleanor, do you honestly think that I'll let police into our house?" He asked her. "Do you even think they'll be able to find it? How foolish do you think I am?"

"Well, you're not exactly smart," Ellie replied. "What kind of an idiot kidnaps a woman in broad daylight?"

"I do," Lucifer replied. "Cause I don't have to worry about getting caught."

"Couldn't you have _waited_ , though? Or better yet, not done it at all?" Ellie asked. "I told you that I didn't approve of you just kidnapping someone off the street! Why don't you _listen_ to me?"

"Because sometimes you're wrong," Lucifer replied. "And I'm right."

"Uh-huh," Ellie nodded. "Oh, sure you are! Cause kidnapping people _always_ turns out so well!"

"Sometimes it does," Lucifer told her. "You came back and you're still here."

"Oh, don't even go there!" Ellie scoffed. "That doesn't count!"

"Why not?" Lucifer questioned. "It's true!"

"I don't care!" Ellie replied. "I can't take the stress of this! From now on, any time we need to do something like find the kids a tutor, we do it _my_ way, not yours. Cause yours is wrong and evil and I hate it, and I hate you for thinking it's okay!"

Lucifer's jaw dropped. She could see the hurt in his eyes. She sensed that she'd gone too far, but she didn't care. She wouldn't let herself. Instead, she said, "I believe I have some errands to do in Hell, so I'm gonna do them now. Goodbye." Then she turned on her heel and left without another word.

* * *

But of course, after her sense of righteous indignation died down, she was full of guilt. Not about what she was angry about, of course. But how she'd handled it could have used some work. She should have held onto her temper. She should have.

In an effort to stave off going home a little while longer, she went into a store to get toothpaste and deodorant and as she was standing in the checkout line, she saw a tiny stuffed bear on one of the shelves. It was white and held a red heart that said "I love you" on it. It was two dollars and she grabbed it, buying it with her other stuff and finally getting it home. She ran to her and Lucifer's bedroom, all ready to apologize for her harsh words, but her heart sank when she found the note on their bed, saying that since she was angry, he was going to sleep somewhere else in the house for a few days so he didn't bother her.

That night, she was the one, in bed, alone, who was sleeping with the bear.

* * *

Over the next few days, every time she saw Lucifer, he treated her very formally. Just a simple "Good morning, Eleanor" at breakfast, a list of tasks for her to do at work, and then a "good night, Eleanor" in the evening.

She knew she could show him the bear and end the fight at any time, but the longer she waited, the more she began to worry that maybe just a stupid two dollar bear from a store where they sold toothpaste wouldn't be enough.

Finally, the guilt ate her alive so much, and she had so many sleepless nights that she stomped into his office and slammed the bag with the bear in it down on his desk. "I'm sorry for saying I hated you," she told him, her arms crossed. "I was frustrated and you didn't seem to care so I just wanted to make you feel hurt. In the bag is a bear that says how I really feel. You can throw it in the trash if you want. It only cost me two dollars and I bought it the day after our fight when I went out to buy some more toothpaste, but I've been too proud or too embarrassed, or too guilty to give it to you before now. I can't decide which."

"Thank you for apologizing," Lucifer told her, then removed the stuffed bear from the bag, grinning at it. "Well, I like this much better," he told her and put it on his desk next to Ellie's picture. "I like it a lot. Thank you."

"So...so you forgive me?" Ellie asked.

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "I do forgive you. I'll be moving back into our room tonight if it's all right with you."

"Well, yeah," Ellie nodded. "But I don't get it. I saw your face! I utterly _crushed_ you when I said what I said! And now I just give you a two dollar stuffed bear and everything is okay? Are you sick or something?"

"No, I'm very well, thank you," Lucifer assured her. "And if you meant it when you said that the guilt about how you behaved toward me has eaten you alive since our original fight, it's not like you're just getting away scot-free, is it now?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "I shouldn't think so."

"There you go," Lucifer told her. "You don't need me to punish you; you did it well enough on your own and I think we can both move on now." He grinned. "I really _do_ like this bear."

"But it's so _cheap!"_ Ellie told him. "How can you possibly like it?"

"When you got it for me, it was a gesture of love, wasn't it?" Lucifer asked.

"Well, yeah, but...think of all the stuff you have," Ellie told him. "All that expensive stuff! How can a cheap little stuffed bear compare to that?"

"A cheap thing bought with love is worth more than an expensive thing that inspires no feeling in me whatsoever other than pride that I was able to acquire it," Lucifer told her, then looked at the bear fondly. "You know, this is the first time someone's ever gotten me a little present like this. Or apologized for wronging me. People never do that. They think that just because I'm the devil, they can be nasty and not feel bad about it. But you did. Thank you, Eleanor."

"No...no problem," Ellie said. "You're welcome."

Lucifer then put the bear down and gave her a tight hug. This wasn't an Eleanor he was used to seeing and she looked like she needed it. It wasn't surprising, though. Guilt really did numbers on people. If all those years in Hell had taught him one thing, it had taught him that.


	55. Hidden Desires

Since she'd been brought down for breakfast, Lauren assumed (much to her relief) that she would no longer be cooped up in any room in the house, and was free to wander around instead, something that Ellie confirmed.

 **Of course you can walk around free** , she wrote. **You should have been able to do that from the beginning and I'm sorry you weren't. Just one thing, though: Be careful to knock before you open doors or you might see something you'll wish you hadn't.**

Lauren's eyes widened. **What does that mean?** She wanted to know, writing quickly. She wondered how much longer the note pads and sticky notes would hold out before she'd have to gather the household around for sign language lessons. That would be much more efficient for everyone. **Should I be scared?**

 **No,** Ellie shook her head although Lauren was suspicious of this answer. **It's just that we're a very...sexual family and I don't want you to be uncomfortable accidentally walking into something like that. Especially where Vincent in particular is concerned. I've warned him about having orgies in his bedroom but...I doubt he'll actually listen to me.**

Lauren read this, scoffed, and crumpled the paper up. Of course she'd have to be wary of running into Vincent having sexual dalliances. Of course she would.

 **Thanks for the warning** , she wrote, her letters becoming spiky and nearly unreadable. **But I'm not scared of your son. I could walk in on him having sex with lots of women and it wouldn't bother me.**

Ellie grinned, thoughts starting to pop up in her mind. Thoughts about Vincent and Lauren that she was sure neither of them would like her to act on. But she had to. They would thank her in the long run. She knew they would.

* * *

"I see that you told Miss Lambert she was free to wander about the house," Lucifer chuckled as he went into Ellie's office. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Eleanor? She could see something that will scar her for life."

"I _did_ warn her not to open any closed doors without knocking first," Ellie informed him. "I'm not just sending her out into the open. That's not nice!"

"No, it's not," Lucifer shook his head. "Not that I wouldn't love to see the look on her face if she saw something she shouldn't. Can you imagine what a girl like her would do if she saw the things that went on inside our house?"

"Yes, which is why she won't see anything!" Ellie chided him. "Right? You've put that poor girl through enough already. Why don't you start being nice to her?"

"I could get her a new wardrobe!" Lucifer exclaimed. "That's a good idea! She's a horrible dresser. Don't you think so?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ellie asked. "If she's fine with how she dresses, that should be good enough."

"No, I'm getting her new clothes," Lucifer said firmly. "And if you come along and don't complain too much, I might buy something nice for you!"

"Really?" Ellie asked. "Cause I _have_ been needing a few new pairs of shoes."

"I think we can manage that," Lucifer grinned and offered her his arm. "Let's go."

* * *

But Ellie was quick to discover that Lucifer was not in the frame of mind to buy Lauren a wardrobe that was actually flattering. Everything was either too big or too small and in colors that were totally wrong for her. She wouldn't be able to hold Vincent's attention wearing what _Lucifer_ wanted to buy her.

"What's wrong with this stuff?" He asked when Ellie pointed this out. "You told me that I shouldn't try and overhaul her wardrobe too much if she was comfortable with how she dresses. I took that advice to heart and now you're yelling at me. I just can't win with you, can I, Eleanor?"

"I think you're getting her unflattering stuff on purpose," Ellie told him. "You've done enough to her. You should get her things that make her look _good_!"

"Well, fine, Miss 'I Know Everything'," Lucifer remarked, his arms crossed. "You think you can be a better shopper than me, you go ahead and do it. Let me see you do better!"

"Fine," Ellie nodded. "I will!" She zapped everything he'd pulled out back where it was supposed to go and filled her arms with dresses in more flattering cuts, along with blouses, slacks, and shoes. (She didn't exactly know how to explain it, but after getting a few looks at Lauren, she was pretty sure she knew down to the inch what size the woman was.)

"There," she said with a satisfied grin as Lucifer looked at her spoils with wide eyes. "That looks good enough to me. I thought she could use a lot of blues and purples. Those look good on her, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Lucifer nodded. "I guess."

"Don't look so surprised," Ellie told him, surmising that the sheer volume of what she'd chosen was what was making him stare that way. "You said you wanted to buy her a new wardrobe, so that's what we're doing."

"Oh, I know that," Lucifer nodded as they hauled everything to the checkout. "But do you think she'll take it? She doesn't seem like the type that would take stuff from us, no matter how well-intentioned we are. I was buying her stuff that was crap so that when she rejected it, it wouldn't be such a problem."

"Well, she likes me much better than she likes you," Ellie said. "Or at least she trusts me more. So if I'm the one to give it to her, she might take it. There could be more of a chance. We should at least try. We owe her that."

They then got to the checkout and when the final total was rung up, Ellie did something that surprised Lucifer so much that he nearly fell over: She compelled the cashier to think they should just be given the stuff. Then she walked out of there as if that was totally fine with her.

"What did you just do?" He asked as he followed her out of the store. "You didn't pay for that stuff! Isn't this going to eat away at your conscience?"

"I'm not gonna make a practice of it," Ellie told him. "But just this once...just this once, I wanted to know what it would feel like to use that particular power. I'm a responsible person." She put all the stuff in the trunk that she modified with her magic and then sat in the passenger's seat.

Lucifer sat in the driver's seat and stared at her in shock until she said, "Are we actually going to leave this parking lot or do you want me to drive?"

"No, you don't have to," he said as he turned the key in the ignition and got the radio on. "I can do it."

"Okay," Ellie nodded. "Good."

"You're full of surprises, Eleanor," he remarked.

"Well, I gotta keep things interesting," she told him. "Gotta keep you on your toes, don't I?"

* * *

When they got home, Ellie put Lauren's new things in her room with a note and then went to talk with her. On the way, though, she ran into Christopher, who'd been keeping a low profile since Vincent's accident.

"Well, look who's here!" She exclaimed. "Why have you been hiding out? I was beginning to get worried!"

"I-I didn't exactly know how to deal with it after Vincent's accident," Christopher confessed. "I know that since we're friends, I should have been there for him, but..."

"It's okay!" Ellie told him. "I'm sure he'll understand. You should go see him." She handed him a note pad and a pencil. "But write down everything you want to say. His accident made him deaf and we still haven't mastered sign language yet."

"All right," Christopher nodded. "I think I can handle that." He paused. "Have you...have you heard from your sister lately?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "Haven't heard from Hannah at all. Do you miss her?"

"I miss certain things about our relationship for sure," Christopher agreed. There was no point in denying it. "But I think...I think that having this break is good for us until she's sure where she stands and lets me know I have value, you know?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "And I'm so proud of you for taking a stand and holding out for what you know you deserve."

"Me too, but sometimes it is _so_ hard!" Christopher confessed. "Really, _really_ hard!"

"Well, no one said you couldn't have intimate relationships with other people," Ellie told him. "Go ahead and try it."

"I guess I could," Christopher sighed. "I don't know how well it'll work, though. As much as I hate to admit it, your sister is a tough act to follow."

Ellie smiled and gave him a hug. "It'll all work out if it's supposed to," she said. "I promise."

"I hope you're right," Christopher remarked. "I really do." Then he let her go and went to talk to his friend Vincent, hoping that Vincent wouldn't hate him too much for not being around until now.

* * *

Although there was no way that it could be said that Vincent loved Lauren, he got a strange thrill from the attention she gave him, even if most of it was negative. But after his mother warned her to stay away from locked doors, she got more clever about evading him and he began to feel neglected.

But how to get her to pay attention to him when she clearly didn't want to? It took a few nights, and a lot of brainstorming with Christopher, but then an evil plan began to form in his mind. He sort of felt guilty cause she was a nice person, but...she was avoiding him! What was _wrong_ with her?

One morning, he wrote Lauren a note and slipped it under her bedroom door. It requested her presence to help him start learning sign language. That would get her where he wanted her to be. She wouldn't turn that down.

Then he got in his car and drove to the Underground to visit his usual girlfriends, asking if they wanted to have a party tonight, and if it would bother them to have someone new join in the fun.

"No," they said all at once. "It'll be just fine." Not that he was expecting them to refuse him. He knew they never would. Then he chuckled as he ordered himself a drink. He couldn't _wait_ to see the look on that prim school teacher's face when she found herself in his room. He made a note to grab a camera so he could preserve it for posterity. That was important.

He was so pleased with himself that he ran to Christopher's room so his friend could share in the plot.

 **So you're going to have a party,** Christopher said. **And it's going to be one of your orgy parties. Lauren won't know that and she'll come upon it and be shocked? That's your big plan?**

 **Yeah,** Vincent returned with a grin. **Isn't it a great plan?**

 **Well, sure, if getting vengeance means that much to you,** Christopher returned. **But if all you want is her attention because you miss her, wouldn't it be better just to say so?**

 **No!** Vincent scowled. **That would mean she wins if I went back to her and begged forgiveness and that's not what I want. I want to teach her that there are consequences for ignoring me.**

This made Christopher raise an eyebrow. **I've been ignoring you since your accident,** he pointed out. **Or at least I haven't been around. What are you going to do to me?**

 **You're different** , Vincent wrote. **I know you weren't avoiding me because you're a jerk. I understand about you. You're invited to my party if you want to come. You can even bring that friend of yours, Alice, if you want. She looks like she could use one of my parties.** He grinned.

 **I'll come to your party,** Christopher assured him. **I'll even bring Alice.**

 **Good!** Vincent smiled and put his hand on Christopher's shoulder. **We'll all have a great time, I promise!**

He left Christopher alone then and Christopher began to prepare himself mentally for what he would see. He wasn't actually bringing Alice to the party, of course. That would make him lose her as a friend for sure. But if anyone needed a friend right now, it was Lauren. And Alice...Alice might be just the person to make her feel better about this whole mess she'd been dragged into.

* * *

Lauren stared at the note, reading it over and over as she made her way to Vincent's bedroom. She wasn't sure why she was even going. It was probably a trick to humiliate her. But what if, through some miracle, he really wanted to learn? Then what kind of person would she be if she let him down?

She reached his room and knocked on his closed door as Ellie had warned her to do. She felt the vibrations of music nearby. No one came to answer the door so she knocked again, and again. Then, growling in frustration, she opened the door and found herself staring at Vincent's naked bottom as he had sex with a woman balanced against a wall, thrusting over and over again. She let out a shriek and covered her eyes. She'd wanted a good look at his bottom. She had. But not this way.

Finally, she took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and tapped Vincent on the back. At first he was annoyed at being interrupted, but after he detached himself and saw who'd interrupted him, he grinned widely, grabbing the nearby camera and getting the shocked and disgusted look on her face, just as he'd planned.

The deep blush in her cheeks matched the red dress she was wearing, which was a much more flattering cut than she usually wore, although it had more ribbons and flounces than he usually found attractive. Even so, he would love nothing more than to get it off her. He reached out to grab her and bring her into the party but she resisted and gave him another slap.

 **I knew this was just an attempt to humiliate me!** She wrote angrily and shoved it in his face. **I could feel it in my guts, which is why I almost didn't come. Then I thought that maybe you'd grown up and actually wanted to better yourself, but it's...It just really makes me sad that you're still just as much a jerk as ever! I hope this little joke at my expense makes you feel good about yourself and that you're okay with hurting the feelings of someone who is just trying to help you. I don't deserve to be treated like this. I don't. Goodbye!**

That outburst made Vincent chuckle, and as she leaved, he grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around, a grin on his face. He didn't say anything, He just waited. And although she held her gaze away from his naked body for the longest time, eventually, she looked. She looked and tried to pretend she wasn't looking, her eyes going up and down and drinking in the view. Her tongue even went over her bottom lip once.

Then he pulled her close, nibbled on her ear, and gave her a spank on the bottom before pushing her out the bedroom door, much to the delight of both himself and his party companions.

Her exit was not lost on Christopher, who followed her out the door and when he reached out to touch her, she immediately began beating on him with her fists, thinking that he would treat her in a similar way to how Vincent had. But eventually, he got her to calm down, apologized for how she'd been treated and promised her that he was a friend. He then brought her to Alice, and once they were both happily talking to one another in his bedroom, he sighed and went back to Vincent's party. They were definitely going to have a talk about Lauren. That was for sure.

* * *

As Lauren got ready for bed that night, she thought about what to put on and ended up deciding on one of the new night gowns Ellie had bought for her. Initially, she'd been hesitant to accept the gifts, but then she'd decided that it had been awhile since she'd gotten a new wardrobe so why shouldn't she accept it? These people owed her big, after all.

She got in her night gown, which was white lace and slightly lower cut than she was used to, then settled down for the first real peace and quiet she'd had for hours.

Unfortunately, that didn't last, however. A knock on the door (indicated by a loud vibrating mechanism attached to it) that she wished she wouldn't have answered brought Vincent back into her room. He began circling her without blinking, just as he had before, trying to intimidate her. But this time, it didn't work.

 **What do you want this time?** She wrote. **It better be good after what you put me through today. You should be glad I even let you in here!**

Vincent chuckled at this. **Oh, I know why you let me in here. Don't try and hide it. I know you enjoyed my little show earlier, no matter how much you pretend you didn't. Nice to see you have desires just like other people.**

This made Lauren blush furiously. **I don't want to talk about it!** She returned, nearly ripping the paper as she got out the frustration she felt with her pen. **If all you came to do is brag, I want you to get out!**

He grinned and reached out to run his fingers over the gauzy fabric of the night gown's skirt. **Were you expecting me?** He wanted to know. **Because I refuse to believe you just chose to wear something so sexy to bed for no reason. You had to know I'd be coming in and wanting to take a look.**

Lauren rolled her eyes. **Actually, I hoped you wouldn't come at all! And I didn't wear this for you. I wore it because I think it makes me look pretty. It makes me feel good! That's reason enough, right? Not everything in my life revolves around you! Now get out! I want to sleep!**

Vincent chuckled. **Oh, I'm sure you do,** he wrote. **And it's nice to see that you're secretly naughty underneath all your plain and boring clothes. I _thought_ you were hiding something from me.**

He reached out to run his fingers over the designs on the bodice of her night gown and when he moved his hands upward to place his warm fingers on the bit of her chest that was exposed, she slapped his hand away.

 **I couldn't care less what you think I'm trying to do when wearing this. What message I'm trying to send!** She breathed heavily. **If I** _ **were**_ **trying to attract a man with sexy clothes, it would be a man with character, not someone like you who's damaged and selfish and sinful!**

That just made Vincent laugh. She might hate him, but she had his character down pretty well.

 **You have needs too, you know,** he told her. **Why don't you let me show you? I know you want me to. You already got a taste when you looked at my body tonight. It seemed like you were enjoying yourself. Don't deny yourself what you know your body wants.**

He got close to her then, his fingers running over her neck and collarbone and then pushing the stretchy fabric of the night gown aside to expose her shoulders, which he kissed, and free her arms from the sleeves. It felt good, but Lauren wasn't ready for it so she pushed him away from her and onto the floor.

That wrecked his playful mood and soon, they began fighting: slapping, hitting, and pulling at each other's clothes. He finally stopped when he tore her night gown in two and undid her bun, exposing really long hair down to her bottom that he was just itching to get his fingers into, much to his surprise.

She was also the sort of person that slept in both her bra and her panties (both nude colored, of course) that covered up two beautiful (and surprisingly good-sized) breasts. He shut his eyes and imagined her being covered by nothing but that long, lustrous hair, just like Lady Godiva...

He opened his eyes and pulled her against himself, undoing her bra and cupping her breasts, which of course, got him yet another good hard slap. He smiled and kissed her soundly, his fingers threading through that beautiful hair before he finally let her go and got up to leave, shutting the door behind him as his mind filled with nothing but pictures of Lauren and her beautiful walnut tresses.

And when she was sure she was alone and could catch her breath, Lauren grinned to herself. She knew he liked her hair. It had surprised him. It seemed to be her big weapon with men who had always wanted to touch it. He wasn't the first. It had been oddly thrilling to have that power over him. Oddly arousing. But that too was something she'd keep to herself, just like how she thought his bottom was nicely shaped. Without putting on a new night gown, she got in bed, shut her eyes and eased into sleep, thinking of the look on his face as she came to seduce him covered by nothing but her hair.


	56. Screaming Out The Words I Dread

Vincent came downstairs for breakfast and cursed mentally when he saw his mother alone at the kitchen table with coffee and the paper and his father nowhere in sight because he and Dexter had gone out to run some early morning errands. He gave her a hug and then she grinned at him.

 **Good morning!** she wrote. **How did you sleep?**

 **Terrible!** He scribbled, baring his teeth. **I have to talk to Dad. That human girl's gotta go!**

 **No!** Ellie grinned. She loved this development between Vincent and Lauren. It was so interesting! **Why would she go anywhere when no one's learned sign language yet? Teaching us, and especially you, was the whole reason why your father put her through all this. And I think there's another reason why she shouldn't go anywhere. You'll thank me!**

 **Why?** Vincent huffed. He wore only black pants, and was otherwise shirtless and barefoot. **What's the other reason she can't leave?**

Ellie made him wait until she finished her coffee, and then she wrote, **I think you like her. And it would be a mistake to send her away when she'd be so good for you.**

 **No offense,** Vincent chuckled. **But why would I be interested in someone like her? What man like me would? I can't believe that's all you have to say to me. I came to you for help and you're not being helpful! This is exactly why I wanted to talk to Dad and not you.**

Ellie narrowed her eyes, her fingers twitching, She wanted so badly to smack him upside the head. Then she looked heavenward and prayed to her father-in-law to give her the strength to be calm and not cold-cock Vincent with anything heavy. She felt a sense of calm after that, caught her son's eye, and smiled.

 **Well, if a man like you wasn't attracted to a woman like that,** she pointed out, **you never would have been born! Now you go and apologize to her. And say it like you mean it, not like you're saying it just because I told you to. And bring her flowers. That would be nice.**

 **Well, can I eat first?** Vincent questioned. **Or do I have to leave without eating?**

 **Of course you can eat!** Ellie nodded irritably. **But after that, you're going to shower, dress, and do what you need to do to make it up to Lauren for acting like a big jerk. Okay? Cause I know deep down you're not a bad person. You're a good person, and I want to start seeing that.**

Vincent nodded, turned his face away from Ellie so she couldn't see how he was blushing, got himself some leftover pizza from the refrigerator and made himself coffee (putting a healthy pour of whiskey in it when his mother wasn't looking) , then after eating, went up to shower and dress, letting fantasy Lauren take over his mind for a little while before he was faced with the real thing and had to be nice to her, which, he knew, would lead to a smug look. Or maybe tears. He didn't know which one was worse.

* * *

 **So you want to tell me what Mom said to get you to buy apology flowers for Lauren?** Valerie asked Vincent as the two of them walked through the outdoor market and headed straight for the flower seller. **Did she threaten to show your girlfriends all your embarrassing baby pictures? Cause I know if I was one of them and saw that one where you have that thing on your butt, the magic would fade pretty quick.**

Vincent turned to glare at his widely grinning sister, and then reminded himself why he'd brought her in the first place: she was the only other woman he knew besides his mother that was not automatically attracted to him. It was the only way he'd be able to get what he needed to done.

 **No!** Vincent made a face. **It is** _**not**_ **because she threatened to show anyone naked baby pictures of me. I said something that pissed her off and she got so mad that I thought she was gonna murder me unless I got apology flowers for Lauren.**

 **And what did you say?** Valerie asked. **I know that Mom's got a bit of a temper but you would think that she'd hold off on hurting her children.**

Vincent sighed. **She said that she thought I liked Lauren and I...I said that someone like me wouldn't be attracted to a goody two-shoes like that, and she took offense.**

This made Valerie laugh so hard that she nearly fell over. **Oh, that's brilliant, you self-centered idiot!** She grinned. **No wonder Mom wanted to kill you!**

 **Yeah, yeah, okay,** Vincent sighed. **I screwed up, I know. You think I should get Mom flowers too? Do you think that's what Dad does when Mom is mad at him?**

 **What Dad does to get Mom to like him again when she's mad would turn us into a movie of the week if you did it,** Valerie told him. **I would just get her flowers if I were you.**

 **Oh,** Vincent nodded. **Well, duh.**

They found the flower seller and after looking around for a bit, decided to get a dozen white roses for Lauren and (they had to get these with magic cause they were out of season) purple hyacinths for Ellie, which, according to flower language, meant apology and regret.

 **You think this'll be good enough?** Vincent asked his sister. **Do you think Mom will forgive me?**

 **Sure!** Valerie assured him. **And even if she doesn't forgive you right away, I think she'll be glad that you've at least realized that what you said was wrong and are moving to fix it.**

 **I hope so.** Vincent shuddered. **I really do. Cause being on Mom's bad side...it's not fun!**

* * *

 **Okay, I got the flowers,** Vincent told Ellie after he returned home. **But do I really have to do all this apology crap? Can't I just promise to be nice from now on and we forget the flowers and the apology? I got an image to protect, you know!**

Ellie _did_ tap him lightly on the back of the head after hearing that remark. **Sorry to break it to you** , she told him. **But if you actually want to start learning sign language, you're gonna need Lauren's help. And if you want to court her, that'll certainly require an apology. There's no way around it.**

Vincent's face screwed up at his mother's words. At least she seemed to like the flowers. That was something when everything else seemed to not be going his way. **What do you mean when you say 'if you want to court her'?**

 **I mean _date_ her, ** Ellie elaborated with a wide grin. **If you want to date her or have her affection in any other long-lasting way, you have to say you're sorry.**

This pronouncement made Vincent look at her as if he'd just swallowed a lemon before writing, **I didn't hear you say that. I didn't hear one word at all. La La La, you didn't say anything about me or Lauren or being together cause that's gross and it would never happen! I'm done with all this romance shit anyway! I** Then, before she could respond in any other way than smirking, he stomped off, letting a few parting words actually escape his lips this time: "I'm glad you like the flowers."

Then, Ellie sat alone, grinning and counting down from five, with Vincent stomping back into the room just as she reached one.

 **Okay, fine,** he wrote, trying to ignore his mother's knowing smirk as he sat down at the table. **Let's say I wanted her to teach me the sign language stuff. What would I do? How would I go about that? Anything other than giving her the flowers that I need to be aware of? And before you say anything, I don't want to court her or date her, or whatever. This has nothing to do with that. It's purely business, I tell you! Business! Get that through your head, all right, Mom?**

Ellie rolled her eyes, finished her coffee, and put the newspaper down, leaning forward and getting in Vincent's space until they were practically nose to nose. **You know what you have to do,** she wrote. **You got the flowers, you know you have to say sorry...I don't know what else I can tell you. Now you have to do it. It won't be painful. It's like taking off a band-aid. Get it over with and it won't be hanging over you anymore. Won't that be nice?**

Vincent narrowed his eyes and stood up from the chair, throwing up his arms in frustration. He'd been perfectly willing to do what his mother suggested, but her nagging had just made him decide not to. At least not at that moment. He would make things up with Lauren when he damn well pleased! _If_ he damn well pleased. And that was that. How could his mother have not figured that out by now?

He left the kitchen again, this time for good, and locked himself in his room where he could vent his frustrations about this crap with Lauren in private and not have anyone yell at him for it.

Who did she think she was, suggesting he should apologize to Lauren? He was Vincent Morningstar and Vincent Morningstar apologized to no one! He was the sort of person people were supposed to thank for just honoring them with a look! That's how things worked, not the other way around!

Then he thought of Lauren's hair and how the only way he'd get to touch it was if he was allowed near her and for that, he would need to apologize. That was worth it, he supposed, so he grabbed the roses and headed to her room, hoping she would let him in. Not that it would make any difference if she didn't. It would just be easier if she did.

He stood outside her door and knocked, then saw the button. He didn't know what the button did, but he decided to press it anyway. A few seconds later, Lauren opened the door with a wide grin on her face, which changed to a frown when she saw him. Damn flashing light that told her that someone was at her door. She wished it told her the identity of her visitors as well so people like Vincent couldn't just come in.

He waved and gave her his most charming and disarming grin (which was usually guaranteed to make anyone melt), but not her. Instead, she just stood in the doorway, arms crossed, chin up, eyes narrowed. That wasn't a good sign. He got rid of the grin, swallowed, and held out the flowers, waiting to see what she would do. She probably wouldn't take them. If she did, it would probably be followed by her throwing them on the ground and stomping on them, which was a shame when they were so pretty.

 **These are for you,** he wrote, using his magic to send pen and pad into the air and write that way. **They're to apologize for how I acted before. Will you take them?**

She stared at him for a bit, screwing up her mouth as if she were truly thinking about it. Then before he had time to prepare for it, she grabbed the bouquet and slammed the door in his face. He thought that he was home free, for once, she was finally falling for his charms like every other normal woman. But then the door opened again and the bouquet was thrown at his feet.

"Fine!" He shouted. "Be like that! Waste good flowers! I didn't want to give them to you anyway!"

She didn't respond, of course. She probably didn't even hear him. So he just gathered up the flowers, looked at them sadly, and took them to the trash, not noticing in his frustration that one of them was missing.

* * *

Once he was gone and Lauren was left in peace, she stared at the rose that she'd taken for herself with fondness. It was pretty, and sweet of him to bring her, even though she sensed he was only doing it for his own purposes because he couldn't stand the fact that she was a woman who didn't fall at his feet just because of a smile.

Grinning, she picked it up off the night table and ran it against her cheek, pretending that he'd given it to her after a nice dinner and a kiss on the cheek in the doorway. It was a nice thought. Something she wanted to happen, if she were totally honest with herself. But being that he was how he was, she doubted he would ever be kind enough and humble enough to make that happen.

* * *

The next day, Vincent came to a decision: He had to teach _himself_ sign language since Lauren was clearly not interested in teaching him, just like he wasn't interested in learning from her. He took one of his father's many cars and drove to a nearby bookstore. After several minutes of walking around, he found some books on basic sign language, paid for them, and headed home, settling himself in his father's study, and opening the book to the first page, looking through the contents to see where he should start. A sensible person would have started with the alphabet, but not him. That was too easy. He didn't need it.

He started with basic greetings, but it turned out not to be as easy as he thought, and he struggled to form his signs perfectly. He was so busy trying, failing, and cursing the book for his failures that he didn't notice Lauren walking by and looking in the open door as he kicked the wall in frustration. When she saw what he was trying to do, she wanted to ignore it. If he was gonna be a jerk, let him fail. But then she sighed when she realized she couldn't do it. She _couldn't_ just let him fail. Not when this could be a sign of him wanting to turn over a new, nicer leaf.

Stomping her foot and then turning on her heel, she strode through the office door and up to his chair, took the book from him, and made him make space for her so they were sharing the red leather chair. She saw what page he was on and shook her head. She turned to the first page, took his hand (which Vincent then pulled away, with this exchange happening several times before she finally distracted him by massaging his palm with her thumb), then after, moving his fingers to properly form the letters A, B, and C.

 **There you go,** she told him. **That's much better. Did you see how I did it? Do it for me so I can check.** She then gave him a soft smile as a way to encourage him and he looked at her in shock.

Here she was, sitting in a chair next to him, wanting to _help_ him. Maybe those flowers had done a better job of getting him on her good side of than he'd thought. Then it finally got through his head what she'd asked of him and he repeated A, B, and C.

 **Did I do it well?** He questioned after. Then took a deep breath and spoke his next words. "Thank you for helping me. I really want to learn." He reached out and traced her bottom lip with his finger. "I want to learn what people are saying. To read their lips."

She moved his hand and nodded. She would help him.

Then he continued, going back to the safety of the written word after taking one of her hands in his. **How do you sign 'You have pretty hair'?**

Lauren blushed when he asked this cause she knew exactly why he was asking it, although his gaze was surprisingly earnest as he waited for an answer, and there was no hint of his usual smirk.

 **No,** she got out at last. **I can't teach you that.**

 **Why not?** Vincent questioned. **I just want to learn! Please?**

 **You're teasing me again,** she wrote. **Mocking me.** **And there's no way I'm going to help you make me look like an idiot.**

Vincent shook his head and then reached out to move some bangs out of her eyes. **I'm really not this time,** he wrote as the pen and paper hovered nearby. **I really do think you have beautiful hair. Nice, long, beautiful hair...I just wanna touch it all the time!**

Then he reached out and pulled her hair out of its bun, getting a thrill when it unfolded from the hairdo and cascaded down her shoulders, the sent of her peach shampoo filling the air.

He then reached out to play with it as her eyes widened and she scrambled out of the chair. He got up, leaving the book they'd been looking at on the floor, taking steps closer and closer to her as she backed away until her legs and butt hit Lucifer's desk, stopping her motion. Then she shut her eyes and readied herself to slap him if he did anything bad.

He chuckled and lifted her onto Lucifer's desk, locking eyes with her and not looking away.

She winced from the pain of sitting on her own hair, then after she rearranged it so it was in her lap, she frowned at him.

 **Let me go, Vincent,** she urged.

He shook his head and ran his hand down her thigh. **I can't,** wrote itself on the pad over their heads. **I need this, Lauren. I need this. I need you.**

Lauren scoffed. **And I think i know what for. And it's not teaching you sign language! That was just a ruse to get me in here wasn't it? You tricked me again!**

He then put a finger over her closed lips to quiet her before grabbing a handful of her hair and putting a supportive hand on her back so she wouldn't fall when he leaned her backward to get a better view of her neck, which he put his lips on and kissed slowly downward from chin to collarbone as Lauren gasped.

Her eyes were closed and she knew she should be mad at him, but it felt good. So sue her. She could hate him later, but now there was a part of her, for whatever crazy reason, that just wanted enjoy this for however long it lasted. She was gonna enjoy it for once. But _just_ once.

After he reached her collarbone, he moved back up to her lips for one more deep, lingering kiss that sent tingles all the way down to her toes before he let her hair go and put his hands on her butt.

Her eyes snapped open and the good feeling she'd had was gone, replaced once again by the urge to slap him silly. Slap that stupid, know-it-all smirk off his face.

 **I know you like my ass,** he told her, that smirk becoming a full-fledged grin as he moved his hands from her butt and put her hands on his.

She tried to control her breathing, but she couldn't resist giving it a squeeze as their faces moved closer and closer together and time seemed to stand still. How long it all took, she had no idea, but thankfully, she came to her senses as her top lip touched his bottom one.

Feeling disgusted with herself for her lack of self-control, she pushed him away and took up her pad again, which had fallen on the floor, scribbling furiously.

 **Don't do that again! I'm not your plaything!**

Vincent scoffed. **I would hardly call you a helpless victim when** _ **you**_ **were the one squeezing** _ **my**_ **ass, but if that's the fiction you need to maintain to help feel comfortable with yourself, I suppose I can go along with it. If I said I had a deal for you, what would you say?**

Lauren eyed him suspiciously. **What kind of a deal? Whatever it is, it's probably nothing good, so I don't even know why I'm asking.**

 **Well, the whole reason my dad brought you here was to teach my and the rest of the family sign language, right?** He asked. **Well, the faster I learn, the faster you'll be able to get out of here. And I'll be really motivated to learn if you, say, give me a kiss or a hug or a more intimate touch if you'd like after I finish my lessons every day. What do you think?**

That was it. That was the last straw. The proposal made her feel physically ill. She gave him a good hard slap then held his face in her hands so he couldn't look away as she raged at him, this time with her own words.

"I think you are the biggest asshole that I have ever met and there is no chance in hell that I am going to reward you for doing something that you should want to do anyway if you want to have a fuller life! You should want to learn to help yourself, not because you think you can turn it into a quick way to get me naked or something. Shame on you!"

The anger on her face and the rigidness of her body told him that her answer was an undeniable 'No'.

 **Okay,** he shrugged. **I let you have the easy way out and you didn't take it, so you'll stay here forever. I hope you're comfortable with that choice. And if it's because you want to spend more time around me, I totally understand.**

He then let her go and she hopped off the desk, storming angrily out of the library and resisting every impulse to turn around cause she knew that all she would see was him laughing at her.

* * *

After a full day without her husband, Ellie was pleased to get a phone call from him around five o'clock that evening asking her if she wanted to meet him at the Underground for drinks and some dancing, plus Roxie had told him they were having a live singer and he didn't want her to miss that.

"You bet!" Ellie told him, a grin on her face. "I'm _so_ there!" She changed into a slinky black dress and high heels, headed to the club, and paused outside the door, peeking in. Lucifer was surrounded by people, but of course she wasn't jealous. It was one of the games they liked to play with other people. She smiled, squared her shoulders, and strutted through the club, stopping in front of Lucifer, sitting on his lap, and ruffling his hair before planting a peck on his cheek. "Hi there, Studly," she said. "Can I buy you a drink?"

His crowd of admirers looked outraged at her just appearing out of nowhere and butting in, but as they protested, Lucifer said, "Sorry everyone. I won't be available tonight. This lovely lady is my wife, so..."

"Bye!" Ellie finished, then grinned as the group all slunk away in disappointment. Then she gave Lucifer a kiss. "Hi, there!" She said. "I missed you all day!"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Lucifer apologized. "I thought I was just gonna do one thing at work and then it snowballed into a lot of things...I hope you managed all right at home by yourself."

"Oh, yeah," Ellie assured him. "It was fine. Great. Vincent's falling in love with Lauren, I think, but he keeps trying to deny it cause he says that big bad Casanovas like him don't fall in love with good girls like her, which, as you and I both know, is not entirely true."

"Well, darling, you are hardly in denial of your urges the way Lauren is," Lucifer reminded her. "That's a difference."

"True, but I think in general, the point still stands. Don't you?" Ellie questioned.

"Yes," Lucifer nodded and put his forehead against hers. "Now, do I get a drink or was that just a line?"

"No, you do," Ellie nodded. "Double whiskey?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded and motioned for Roxie. "And I'll get yours. What do you want?"

"I don't know," Ellie replied. After ordering Lucifer's whiskey, she asked Roxie, "What does my aunt get? I'll have whatever she gets cause I've not really drunk much before so I don't know what I like."

"I think you'll like what Mom gets," Roxie replied. "Rum and Coke. It's classic."

"And I know both those things," Ellie agreed. "That's reassuring. Thanks, I'll have that."

It was while they were drinking their drinks that they saw Selina come through the club door and approach the bar.

"Did Roxie tell you about the live band playing tonight too?" Lucifer asked. "I wonder if they're any good."

"Oh, they are," Selina assured him and then told Roxie she would have what Ellie was having. "It's my son and his wife, you know. Sammy's very good."

"How many children do you have?" Lucifer asked, his eyes widening.

"A lot," Selina admitted. "But as we've established, none of them are yours, so you can stop looking like you're going to wet yourself."

"I do not!" Lucifer exclaimed indignantly.

"Actually you kinda do," Ellie said, cupping his face in her hand as she grinned widely. "But don't worry, I still think it's cute!" She gave him a peck on the lips and then they watched as Roxie went on stage to announce the band, which was indeed made up of Selina's son Sam, who sang and played guitar, and his wife Leslie, who sang, along with some other band members.

They drank their drinks and then the three of them went out onto the dance floor, shaking and shimmying like there was no tomorrow.


	57. Vincent The Angel

Lauren was a bit dubious about teaching Vincent sign language at first because she was convinced (not without reason) that all he would do during his lessons was try to hit on her and not focus on anything serious. But she was wrong, much to her surprise. He soon mastered his letters, a lot quicker than she would have thought, and moved on to basic greetings, which required a bit more work.

One day as he struggled, she decided to take pity on him and give his brain a chance to focus on something more to his liking. She reached out, put a hand on his arm, and when he was looking her in the eyes, wrote, **Don't take this the wrong way, but...what are you and your family? I know you're not human, so don't lie to me and say that you are.**

 **You want the truth?** Vincent wrote back, showing her the pad. **I don't know if I should tell you the truth. You won't believe me.**

 **Just give me a shot, would you?** Lauren wrote back. **I think I've seen enough since I came here that I'll believe almost anything now.**

Then, Vincent seemed to backpedal a bit and play dumb. **I don't know what you mean,** he wrote. **I don't understand your question.**

Lauren grunted, frowning deeply. She hated it when he did this. Treated her like some fragile person who could only know so much. **I know about the supernatural world, or at least I've suspected it existed for the longest time,** she scribbled, showing it to him as his eyes widened. **I had an uncle who used to disappear during the full moon.**

 **Did you now?** Vincent replied back, one side of his mouth going up. **Well, in that case...my father is the Devil.**

This was not what she'd expected to hear and she'd imagined several scenarios. They stared at each other and then Lauren frowned and kicked him in the shin. **What is** _ **wrong**_ **with you?** She wanted to know, scribbling furiously. **I try to get some intimacy between us and all you do is tease me. I don't like it! When will you get that through your head?**

Vincent shook his head, writing as furiously as she had. **I'm not trying to tease you! I'm telling you the truth! I warned you that you wouldn't believe me, didn't I?**

Lauren didn't want to admit he had a point, so instead she just glared. **Let's say I'm playing along with this insane theory of yours,** she wrote. **If your father is the King of Hell (yeah, right!) then...you're the Prince of Hell?**

Vincent nodded. **Prince of Hell, Prince of Darkness, Vincent...whichever you prefer. But personally, I would love to hear my name come from those beautiful lips of yours more than anything else.**

Lauren's eyes narrowed as he grinned. She slowly rose to her feet. **I think we've had enough lessons today,** she told him with a flourish of her pen. **I'll be in my room. Don't follow me.**

She began to walk away and Vincent got up to stop her as she reached the door. **If you don't want me to know where you are or follow you, then why did you tell me where you were going?** He asked. Then, he grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. She gulped nervously as his flashed red, his teeth bared.

 **And don't act so shocked now that you know the truth** , his pen wrote on the pad that was hovering next to him in the air. **I know somehow that you've known what we all are for quite some time. You must've figured it out. You're too smart not to!**

Lauren's eyes widened. She swallowed and nodded, then somehow found the strength to move his hands from her shoulders. **Yeah,** she wrote out her confession. **Okay, I did know before now. I figured that's why you love debauchery so much. Why you're so sexual and sinful and bad.** She thrust her chin forward then, giving him a look of challenge.

But then his face lightened and all he did was laugh, his pen working again. **You have the wrong idea about me, you know,** he told her. **I'm not bad. Sex is not bad. It's fun and it's healthy and it would do you a lot of good if you would just let yourself try it!**

 **But won't your father take me to hell if I do?** Lauren wrote, her expression nervous.

 **No!** Vincent assured her. **Dad only takes you if you over do it at the expense of everything else. He's not gonna begrudge you a good time every once in a while.** He paused, then started up his pen again. **I bet I know the answer to this, but...have you ever given yourself pleasure?**

"No!" Lauren burst out, so shocked by the question that she actually spoke before taking a deep breath and going back to using her pen. **Doing that is sinful and bad. I would be ashamed to. Besides, I decided a long time ago that I was gonna save myself for marriage.**

This, of course, made Vincent burst into laughter and when he could finally breathe again, he held her at a distance and wrote, **you really don't know what you're missing, sweetheart, but I want to show you. As my reward for being such a good little worker bee today, I want to take you out. It's about time you had your first visit to the Underground. We'll leave at nine.**

He then grinned at her shocked face and planted a brief kiss on her parted lips before leaving for the kitchen to get Kai to give him a little snack.

* * *

Valerie let out a cry when she felt the tap on her back, then let out a sigh of relief when she saw Lauren.

She waved and gave what she hoped was an inviting smile, then wrote, **Hi! Can I help you?**

Lauren nodded. **Yes, and I'm sorry if I scared you. Your brother has invited me to a place called the Underground. We're going to go at nine and I don't want to look like a loser, so...will you help me pick out some clothes? Your mom got me several possibilities, but I don't know much about sexy outfits, so...yeah.**

After hearing this, Valerie felt marvelous. Truth be told, she'd wanted to make Lauren over for quite some time, but knew her mother would say that she shouldn't force something like that if Lauren didn't want it. But now she was asking and Valerie was more than ready.

 **Of course!** She assured her and let Lauren lead her to her room where several outfits suitable for a night out on the town lay on every surface.

 **Wow, you're right!** Valerie mused. **There** _ **are**_ **a lot of options here. But first you have to tell me how sexy you want to go.**

 **I just don't want to look like a dork,** Lauren wrote. **I want your brother to be proud to be seen with me. I only ask that the outfit have** _ **some**_ **coverage, at least. I can be sexy without being naked, right?**

 **Oh, yeah,** Valerie assured her. She then hunted around and found black skinny jeans, a red blouse with a sweetheart neckline that showed off a pair of very nice shoulders, Valerie thought, and some high-heeled sandals.

 **Put those on and let me have a look,** Valerie instructed, her writing going on the pad with the pen that was floating over her head. **I think this is a winner. Oh, and wear your hair down. Clubs are not places for schoolmarm buns.**

Lauren was a bit nervous, but since Valerie was the one that knew what she was doing, she decided to put her trust in her. She put on the outfit she was given and took her hair down, then took a deep breath and let Valerie back in the room.

When Valerie saw her, she clasped her hands together and grinned widely, hugging her hard and saying (more to herself than to Lauren), "Oh, my gosh, it looks so _good_!"

Then she held Lauren at arms' length and wrote, **How do you feel? Cause you look super hot!**

 **Do I?** Wrote Lauren, her hand shaking the entire time. **I guess that's good. I really don't know. I hope I don't regret doing this.**

 **No, you shouldn't regret it!** Valerie encouraged. **You'll be the toast of the town at the club! Now the next order of business is keeping you away from my brother, cause we want this to be a surprise until you leave. And you don't leave for a while. Change back into your other clothes and we'll think of something to do to get you out of the house until then.** She squealed and clapped as she left the room and thought of the look on her brother's face when he finally saw Lauren. He was gonna go nuts. That was for sure.

* * *

After Lauren had changed back into her regular clothes, Valerie took her out and they window shopped, went to the library, had lunch together and did some other things around town. Then after dinner, Valerie looked at her phone and decided it was time to head back.

 **It's time to head home** , she texted Lauren, who'd brought her phone in her purse. **I hope you had a good day and I didn't wear you out too much for whatever my brother's got in store for you tonight.**

Lauren shook her head. **No, I'm not tired, but...if it's not too much of an imposition, could you come to the club with us? Think of a reason and bring someone if you want to? I would feel much better that way.**

 **Sure,** Valerie wrote back, grinning. She loved the idea of taking Dexter to the Underground and was so glad Lauren had invited her. It seemed like it was gonna be a good evening for everyone.

When they got home, the two of them ran up to Lauren's bedroom and got her in her outfit, and after brushing her hair, waited until just the right moment for her to make her entrance, which was when Vincent texted Lauren from downstairs. **Christopher's ready to go with Alice and I am too. Are you? Take all the time you need. I don't want to rush you.**

 **No, I'm ready,** Lauren texted back. **I'll be down in a minute.**

 **You are gonna be so stunned when you see her,** his sister added. Then they both descended the stairs as Vincent and Christopher watched open-mouthed by the door. Vincent didn't look away until he swallowed wrong, began choking, and Christopher had to whack him on the back.

When he was sure his friend could breathe again, he went and got Alice, who'd chosen to read in the library until it was time to go, and while he was gone, Valerie went and got Dexter.

"What's he coming along for?" Vincent asked, a little perturbed. "Did Mom ask him to chaperon us or something?"

"Yes," Dexter said. It sounded less awkward than saying he was going as Valerie's date. "You can't say it's not unreasonable, young man."

"Oh, whatever," Vincent huffed. "Let's just go." Then he looked at Lauren, who seemed a bit nervous at his bad mood. **Don't worry,** he wrote on his hand and showed it to her. **Not mad at you. Just wasn't thinking we'd have so much company tonight.**

* * *

When they arrived at the Underground, they asked Roxie if they could have a private room and she readily obliged them. Once they were settled, Lauren grabbed her phone and wrote Vincent, **Is it always so dark in here? Why is that?**

 **It's part of the look** , Vincent wrote her back as he stretched out on a blue sofa. **We're literally underground, so the aesthetic kind of reflects that. If you need more light, I can go grab a flashlight for you.**

Thus informed, Lauren shook her head. **No, there's enough light. I just wondered why it looked this way. Now I know. Thanks!**

Not long after, someone came to get their drink orders and when Lauren said she only wanted a Coke, Vincent whispered in the man's ear to tell the bartender to put some rum in it. Not a lot, but just a little so it could actually be _called_ a drink.

 **What did you tell him?** Lauren wrote and shoved her phone in his face. **Are you trying to get me drunk?**

 **Not even!** Vincent wrote back quickly. **The bartender will put in so little rum you'll barely notice it.**

Vincent himself had gotten a Zombie cause he'd really been wanting to test that metabolism of his, which he'd heard gave him a really high tolerance for alcohol and that drink, which when properly made, had four types of rum in it, including some that was 151-proof. It was so strong that it could even be lit on fire if somebody wanted a show.

He wouldn't chug it, of course, cause he didn't want to look like a fool in front of Lauren and destroy what little trust they'd started to develop, but he knew he had to try it at least once. He _had_ to.

While they waited for their drinks, Vincent didn't know what to do with himself, so he turned to his sister and Dexter, who were sitting awkwardly and looking uncomfortable despite the fact that it was supposed to be a fun evening. "So," he said to Dexter with a wide grin. "I know you're screwing my sister. How long has that gone on? Is she good in bed?"

That earned him a punch in the eye from Valerie, with Lauren moving out of the way just in time to avoid being hit, although, of course, she had no idea why Valerie was so mad and Dexter was blushing such a bright red.

By the time he was sitting upright again, Valerie was blushing as red as Dexter and yelling and swearing, every bad word she knew coming out of her mouth and aimed at her brother, the message clear that she wanted him to mind his own damn business.

Finally, Dexter took over and sent Vincent a very firmly worded text, telling Vincent he was mistaken about something going on between him and Valerie, but the red in his cheeks gave away the fact that that was a lie.

 **I think you misunderstand** , Vincent texted back after holding up his hands in surrender. **I have no problem with you two being a couple. I wish you the best of luck. Dexter, you're a good guy and if my sister had to screw around with anyone in secret, I'm glad it's you. But I wonder if Dad will be so charitable when he finds out about the two of you? He doesn't know yet because the roof is still on the house, but have you thought about what you'll tell him when he knows at last?**

Valerie and Dexter stared at each other. They'd tried not to think about that, but they knew that Vincent was right. They stayed cuddled up against each other for some time until, after the drinks had been delivered and were (mostly) finished, the group headed to the dance floor.

As she found herself surrounded by people, Lauren made sure to stay close to Vincent or Valerie at all times. Many of the people at the club were clearly not human, and although part of her was horrified, another part was interested to see just how varied the supernatural world was. And this was just a small part of it!

Vincent felt her nervous squeeze of his arm and gave her a reassuring squeeze back.

 **It's all right,** he assured her, using his magic to send the words to her phone. **I know you're nervous, but just drink your drink and stay calm. I promise no one here will hurt you.**

It might have been easy for Vincent to have that attitude, but it became much harder for Christopher when he saw Hannah stride through the club door with a demon man he'd never seen on her arm.

He tried to stay calm and let it just go over his head, but despite his best efforts, jealousy soon overtook him. He headed onto the main dance floor with Alice, Dexter, and Valerie following behind him. They'd seen Hannah too and wanted to make extra sure that the sight of her wouldn't make Christopher do anything stupid.

Much to their relief all he did was dance to the music, even though he never took his eyes off Hannah and her date.

Then, unexpectedly, he grabbed Hannah away from her date and pulled her into his own arms. He'd expected her to be shocked or even upset at what he'd done, but she took it in stride.

"Well, hello," she smiled at him. "Haven't seen you in a while. This is a pleasant surprise. Even though I'm here with someone. You see him, don't you, Christopher?"

"Of course!" Christopher growled. "Tell me who he is!"

"You sound jealous!" Hannah grinned. "But you can't expect me to just come alone when I see you brought Alice with you. You get a date, I get a date. It's only fair."

That smirk of hers just made Christopher want to strangle her more and more the longer he looked at it. Finally, he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into a corridor near the bathrooms, far away from the dance floor.

"I know you're just doing this to irritate me," he hissed. "You didn't bring him because he's right for you. _I'm_ right for you, damn it! And you know it, too!" His whole body was tense. Hannah pushed her dark hair out of her eyes and lightly ran her fingers down the bulging muscles of his bare arms as he began panting. Then, thankfully, that feeling of arousal was destroyed when she gave his arm a good, hard pinch.

"That is the biggest bunch of bullshit I have ever heard in my entire life!" Hannah cried. She was so worked up, he got a good glimpse of her blue demon face. "If you can date Alice the goody-two-shoes, I can bring another guy for a fun night at a club too! I don't need your permission! And I can have sex with any guy I want too!" She stuck out her tongue. "So there."

He grabbed her tongue and pinched it. "No, you can't," he told her.

"Why not?" She asked in a distorted voice.

"Because this!" Christopher told her, letting go of her tongue, pulling her close with his hand on her bottom, and kissing her soundly.

Then she pushed him away and they glared at each other before sharply turning away from one another, spinning on their heels, and heading off to rejoin their abandoned dates as if the whole conversation had never happened.

* * *

Despite their nervousness about possibly being found out, Dexter and Valerie decided to have a good time anyway, regardless of what the consequences were, and they felt pretty good about that choice until Roxie tapped Valerie on the shoulder.

"Interesting," she said with a grin. "I never would have pegged you as a couple." Then she winked at Dexter. "Nice to see you're taking what is presumably a chaperoning job so seriously. I'm sure Lucifer appreciates that."

"Actually, it's more than that," Valerie whispered. "I _like_ him. _A lot_! But we don't think Dad will like our relationship, so would you...would you not tell him that you saw us here together? Can you keep it to yourself? We would appreciate that so much!"

"It's okay, you can breathe!" Roxie assured the desperate daughter of Satan with a smile. "I can keep a secret, especially for two people who look so happy. He won't hear a word about it from me."

Thus assured, they went back to dancing and Roxie went to the bar, where Vince took her in his arms and hugged her. "I saw that," he told her. "That was very nice, whatever you said. It seems to have cheered them up."

"Well, they're terrified that her dad will be unhappy about their relationship and, well...you know I've been there." She gave Vince a kiss. "So how could I _not_ help them out and give them a safe place?"

* * *

Meanwhile, after she finished her drink and a couple glasses of water, Lauren realized that she needed to go to the bathroom. She thought of asking Valerie to come with her, but Valerie seemed so happy dancing with Dexter that she didn't want to interrupt. She settled for telling Vincent where she going cause she felt much safer having another person know where she was, and then made her way to the bathroom, thankful that it was very obvious where that was, even in the dark.

Things seemed to be going fine until she left the bathroom after washing her hands. Once she'd closed the door behind her, a group of the club's supernatural patrons, some demons, some vampires, some witches, all attacked her because they knew she was human and they didn't like having a human among them.

They wrestled her to the ground and put a rope around her neck after giving her a few swift kicks. Then, as she sobbed and got up on her knees, they ordered her to crawl through the club while one of the demons held onto the rope like a dog leash. She tried to be strong, she tried to resist. But it was just too much. Finally, she did what they wanted, crawling through the club on all fours, her face bleeding with some of the blood getting into her hair as tears flowed freely down her cheeks. She kept her eyes on the floor and waited for it all to be over.

Then someone brought a bowl of (thankfully clean) water from the toilet, put it down in front of her after stopping her by the bar, and tried to make her drink from it.

By that point, most of the group had been taken away by security and Vince was advancing on the others, but no one did as effective a job of getting rid of them as Vincent himself. He pounced upon Lauren's tormentors, killing the ones directly touching her and shooting fire at the walls.

"You all get the hell away from her!" He yelled. "Otherwise, I'm gonna lock this whole damn place up and burn it down to the ground and she and I will be the only ones allowed out because we're the only good ones here! Didn't anyone else see what was happening to her? Why didn't you _help_?" He then shot fire from his eyes to more places around the club and as the room burst into flames and filled with smoke, he took Lauren in his arms after removing the rope from her neck and running his fingers through her hair and cried out in his loudest voice, not caring at all how it sounded, "Go to hell! _All_ of you!"

They then left the club, Vincent muttering to Lauren, even though he knew she couldn't hear it, "I got you, you're safe. You don't have to be scared anymore. I'm taking you away from here. We're leaving."

* * *

Because Lauren was crying so hard after her experience with the jerks by the bathroom, Vincent had to carry her from the club to his red sports car. He set her gently in the backseat and buckled her in, giving her a smile. Then he sat next to her, putting his arms around this brave human who never did a bad thing to anyone and was truly a good person. He'd have to ask his father if there was a way to expedite people's journeys to Hell, because if it were up to him, those assholes who had bullied his Lauren would have a first class trip!

She continued to sob, her head buried in his neck for a bit before something else happened. Something new that he wasn't prepared for. Soon, she stopped crying, and he could feel her lips on the base of his neck. Then they went up his neck and over his jawline before they met his in a kiss.

When she pulled away, they both looked at one another in shock. Vincent's first instinct was to pull away, even though this was the beginning of what he'd wanted for weeks. She was upset now and he didn't want to take advantage. But then she unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, slipped her hand down it, and said in her own voice, "Please kiss me, Vincent. Please."

And that was that. Since he had permission, he no longer hesitated. He kissed her deeply, his fingers in her hair as he pushed her against the window. She unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way, her hands sliding over his abs, making him wonder what it would feel like for her to explore other parts of her body like that as well.

Then they pulled apart, both flushing deeply and breathing hard. **Should we stop?** Vincent wrote.

And Lauren shook her head. **No,** she wrote back. **Please, no. Not yet. Do something else to me, please. You're the only one who makes me feel safe. I trust you.**

Even with that assurance, he still felt a bit gun shy. **All right** , he wrote after taking a deep breath. **Here's what I'm going to do with you. You can tell me if there are some things you don't want me to do. Let me know if any of it hurts and I'll stop. I don't want you to hurt any more tonight.**

Lauren read that and gave him a smile as she wiped tears from her eyes. **Thank you,** she wrote, looking over her shoulder. The blaze Vincent had caused was out now and there were lots of people standing in the parking lot waiting to be allowed to go back in. Overall, there didn't seem to have been too much damage done, at least not anything that couldn't be fixed with magic. But Vincent had made a memorable impression. That was for sure.

Vincent tapped her then and she looked at the list of things he wanted to do to her (all gently, of course.) She showed him the list, put her hands on either side of his face so he was looking her in the eyes, and got out, "Talk to me."

So he repeated the list again, only out loud while gripping her hand and massaging her palm with his thumb after pulling her shirt down to expose her black strapless bra. "Okay, I'm going to lick, caress, and gently bite your breasts. And after that, I'll show you how to pleasure yourself. Do you want me to keep going?"

Lauren nodded enthusiastically, and he did just that. She'd been a little nervous about the biting at first, but he was gentle and she did, much to her surprise, get some pleasure from his actions. the feeling of his lips as he gently licked her and then sucked on her nipples was surprisingly pleasurable, and every time one of his strong hands squeezed her breasts, warmth shot through her, some of it centered in her panties. Then he undid the zipper on her pants and gently took her hand, slowly pulling it downward until it was inside her panties. Then, he began a gentle rubbing motion just as he kissed and nibbled on her ears and earlobes.

Between the kissing, the nibbling, and the rubbing, Lauren soon climaxed for the first time, the motion of it sending her falling forward into Vincent's arms.

She smiled and clutched at him, the scent of her hair nearly pushing him over the edge. It took all the control he had not to give into the fact that he was hard as a rock and so close to taking her right there in the backseat. But he controlled himself, kissing Lauren's hair and then writing that he had to leave the car for a few minutes to take a deep breath after all that they'd done.

He left, took a deep breath, and after going behind a nearby tree, unzipped his pants and took care of his own needs. Some time he would do that with Lauren, but now was not the time.

After he was done, he returned to the car, feeling much more comfortable. He opened the passenger side door, gave Lauren a quick kiss, and then, before taking his place in the driver's seat so they could go home, explained himself. **Sorry I left,** he wrote. **But if I hadn't, I would have taken you right there in the backseat. You're not ready for that now so I just decided to take care of it myself.**

Lauren grinned and leaned forward, gently massaging his neck with her fingers, then taking his hand and writing on it with pen. **Not for long, I promise,** she wrote, leaving him wondering just what sort of monster he'd created, but at the same time, very excited to find out when the time came.


	58. The Devil Made Me Do It

"I have a question," Maeve asked Lucifer one day. "How would you feel if I...moved somewhere else? Would that bother you?"

"Where would you move to?" Lucifer asked curiously. "That mysterious place you slip off to nearly every night but refuse to tell us where it is? Is that where you're thinking of going?"

"Yes, but I promise it won't be forever. Just until I prove a point to someone and then I'll come back," Maeve said.

"Well, it's nice you asked first instead of just disappearing," Lucifer said. "You can go, but first you have to tell me just where it is that you're going."

"How about I don't and you just trust me?" Maeve replied stubbornly.

"Technically since you work for me, I think I have the right to know where you are at all times," Lucifer said firmly, rising up from his desk. "Now where are you going?"

She muttered something and he rolled his eyes. "You'll have to say that again. I didn't hear it!"

"I'm moving in with Junior!" Maeve cried. "Ellie's dad! Is that loud enough for you? Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I did," Lucifer leaned back a little, his eyes wide. That hadn't been what he'd expected her to say. "I heard you fine. You don't have to shout."

"I do, apparently," Maeve narrowed her eyes. "Since you seem to be going deaf and all."

"So you've been slipping off to Junior's every night," Lucifer leaned forward, grinning widely. "This is interesting. Please tell me more."

"No, I don't want to!" Maeve shook her head. "That's exactly why I wanted to keep this conversation short in the first place."

"Am I at least allowed to tell Eleanor what you're doing so she can mentally prepare herself for the fact that you could very well be her new mum?" Lucifer questioned.

"It doesn't matter if I say 'Yes' or 'No', does it?" Maeve cried in exasperation. "You're going to do what you want anyway!"

"You're right, I am," Lucifer grinned and put his feet up on his desk. "We're done here. You can go."

"Thank you," Maeve rolled her eyes and stomped out. "It's about damn time!" She began her trudge back to her room to pack, but was stopped by Vincent, who was dragging some frightened men in chains behind him. They were the rest of Lauren's tormentors that he hadn't killed immediately. Now he intended to rectify that.

 **What's going on here, kid?** She wrote, tilting her head toward his chained friends. **New hobby?**

 **No** , Vincent shook his head and looked toward the group with distaste. **They need to be tortured, never mind asking why. Could you handle that? Preferably in a way that's slow and painful? And tell me when you're gonna do it so I can watch.**

Maeve took the message, read it, and laughed. Now _that_ was exactly the sort of thing she needed to hear today. Nice to see Vincent showing off the less annoying side of his dad that he'd inherited.

 **All right, I have lots of fabulous medieval torture devices around somewhere. Why don't you come down with me and we can pick one. Or two. Or three?** She wrote back.

"Sure!" Vincent got out, eagerness being the emotion that inspired speech in him. "Sure, okay!" He then offered her his arm and she took it, making sure the men were following both of them. She probably should have packed first, but if Vincent wanted someone tortured, packing could wait. Part of her wondered just what they'd done to make him so mad, but part of her just didn't care. She'd never asked Lucifer, just enjoyed the torture. And she wouldn't change that pattern now.

* * *

"I can't believe Maeve is moving in with my dad," Ellie sighed once Lucifer informed her what was going on with her father. "What if..." her eyes widened and she gripped Lucifer's arm so hard that he winced. "What if they get married and I have to call her 'Mom'! I can't handle that! It would be _weird!"_

"Well, I don't know why you're so worried, Eleanor," Lucifer tried to reassure her, pulling her close to him and rubbing her back. "You know your father's not the marrying type! Otherwise he would have married your mother long ago! He liked her _that much_!"

"I think this is different," Ellie shook her head. "Maeve and Daddy are much more alike. She wouldn't push him into marriage like Mom did. It would be much more likely to happen naturally, which is why he'd probably be more likely to go along with it if it came up." She got to her feet, her hand on her forehead. "I can't handle this. It's too much! I need a drink! Or five! Time to test my supernatural metabolism!"

"Oh, you'll love it," Lucifer grinned. "It's a riot. Takes forever to get hammered." He shrugged. "Not that I ever have but your metabolism probably isn't as strong as mine."

"Oh, yeah?" Ellie asked, raising an eyebrow. "We'll see about that."

They then stared at each other for a long time, each silently daring the other to move first, the air thick with tension. Then they finally sprinted to the dining room and Lucifer grabbed a few bottles to start with. "Now are you absolutely positive you want to do this, Eleanor?" He asked. "This is your last chance to back out. I can tell you right now that it won't end well for you."

"I don't care!" Ellie proclaimed. "I can take it. Anything to get my mind off this Maeve/Junior mess!"

So they kept downing shot after shot and Lucifer was surprised at how well Ellie held up, considering she wasn't usually a drinker and especially not at this level. But at last, surrounded by empty bottles that had once held whiskey and rum, she collapsed, and Lucifer won. But his victory was obviously not something he reveled in. Instead, he picked Ellie up and looked at her with pity.

"I told you that this wasn't gonna end well for you," he told her. "And I don't envy what you'll be going through soon."

But because he was a good sport, he camped out in the bathroom with her, holding onto her hair as she remained bent over the toilet for several hours, yelling when she came up for breath about how she was hurting and miserable and wanted to die. "Why'd you let me drink that much?" She groaned when she finally had a little bit of strength to turn around and glare at him.

"Me!" He looked offended. "Did I not give you one last warning before I started pouring shots that this was exactly how it was gonna turn out? Didn't I? Don't tell me that you're gonna be like everyone else and blame me afterward for every stupid or bad choice you make. I thought that was beneath you, Eleanor."

Ellie opened her mouth to respond to this accusation, but instead of words, she just leaned over the toilet and got sick again.

"If it makes you feel any better," he told her at last, "You lasted a lot longer than I thought you would. You should be proud of that."

That got a nod out of her as she sat up again, took a breath, and then lay down on the bathroom floor, shutting her eyes. "I think I'm done puking," she told him. "At least for now, so I'm just gonna sleep here. Can I have a pillow?"

"Oh, of course you can have a pillow," he told her and kissed her cheek. "And a blanket too. I hoped you learned something from all this."

"Yeah," Ellie assured him weakly. "No more shots. No more."

Lucifer came back and put a pillow under her head an a blanket over her body, then rubbed her back until he was sure she was asleep before leaving to go get coffee and painkillers cause Ellie would need them soon more than anything.

* * *

They managed to get through the rest of the day and the night, but of course Ellie woke up the next morning with a terrible hangover.

"Shut the curtains!" She cried, covering her eyes and actually hissing when Dexter came to wake her. "The light is too much! Everything hurts!"

"Sorry," Dexter apologized. "I forgot about the big night you had last night." He shut the curtains and then came to sit at her bedside. "Do you want some coffee?" He asked her. "Maybe I can make you a mimosa. That might take the edge off a little."

"No!" Ellie shook her head. "No mimosa. No more alcohol. I'll get through this with pills and coffee. I will. I can do it."

"All right," Dexter told her. "Whatever you want, we'll do it. The boss sends his apologies but he had to cash in a favor with someone this morning so he's gonna be out for a bit."

"That's fine," Ellie told him. "I trust you to take care of me. And after what happened last night, I could probably use some time away from his influence anyway." She cleared her throat. "And I'll take that coffee whenever you're ready. There's no rush." She fell back on her pillow. "I just wanna lie down."

"I know you do," Dexter assured her. "But I really would like to see you try and get some coffee and toast down before you sleep again. I think it would be good for you to have something in your stomach."

"All right," Ellie nodded and reluctantly sat up again. "Let's do it."

"Good for you," Dexter encouraged. "And if it's any encouragement at all, you already look much better than you did yesterday, even if you don't feel like it."

"Thanks," Ellie gave him a smile. "That's a start, anyway."

* * *

And he was right. After she got some toast and coffee in her, she began to feel better, if not completely like her old self and was actually up and about (although in a bathrobe), when Lucifer returned for a few minutes to check on her.

"Nice to see you on your feet," he grinned. "Dexter load you up with coffee and toast and pills?"

"He did!" Ellie nodded and gave Lucifer a hug. "He's very wise."

"Well, he knows what he's talking about," Lucifer replied. "He researched the heck out of this because he wanted to make sure you came out of it all right...as did we all."

"Well, you'll be glad to know that I've learned my lesson," Ellie assured him with a smile. "Even if Junior and Maeve become a couple, I'll never deal with it by challenging you to a drinking contest _ever_ again."

* * *

"Well, look who's here?" Junior grinned when he opened the door to his house and saw Maeve standing on his doorstep with all the suitcases she could carry. It had taken her days to finally come because helping Vincent had given her an excuse to hold it off and not see that annoying smirk on Junior's face, but now, here she was. "I can take those for you if you want. You know, when you said you wanted to move in, I thought you were joking, but here you are!"

"Since you thought I was joking, does that mean I have to share a bed with you because there's no separate room prepared for me?" Maeve asked as she pushed her bags into his gut and made her way into the house. "The rest of them are in the car if I have my own room to put them in." Only two smaller bags had clothes in them. The rest had been loaded down with rocks and other heavy things cause she wanted Junior to suffer a bit.

"Don't worry, you do," Junior told her after getting his breath back. "Although my door is always open."

"Don't get too attached to the idea that you and I are gonna share a bed and watch TV together and make each other pancakes in the morning," Maeve said as she pushed him against the wall and got right in his face. "I only came here to prove to you that our living together won't work out! That's it! That's all! Got it?"

"Got it," Junior nodded. "Now, even though you're in a bad mood, can I get you something to drink? Not getting you any alcohol. I think you've already had enough today. Tea might be good."

Maeve's eyes narrowed and she got right up next to his ear. "You give me tea and I chop off your arm."

Then Junior turned around, smiled, grabbed her, and kissed her soundly.

But the kiss didn't last long before Maeve pushed him away and sucker-punched him in the gut. "Just take my bags, all right? None of that touchy-feely stuff!"

"Yes, ma'am," Junior told her in a winded voice. "Right away, ma'am."

"And don't forget my drink, either!" She called after him. "Remember that you offered me a drink!"

Though Maeve had started with the upper hand, Junior was soon able to take his revenge. As he was bringing the last bag from her car, his parents came up to him with looks of concern on their faces. Apparently, they'd tried to get into the house through the back door as usual and of course he hadn't noticed.

"Why can't we get in the back door?" His mother, Mary asked him. "There's a strange woman blocking our way."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Junior told her. "That's just Maeve. She's nuts."

"Well, what's she doing in your house?" his father wanted to know. "We talked to you about being careful about the kind of women you date. How does a person go from a nice girl like Sarah to a crazy woman like that?"

"Well, Maeve doesn't want any sort of commitment," Junior told his dad. "And that's okay with me."

"Oh, dear," Mary sighed. "I'm not going to have any more grandchildren, am I?"

"Who knows?" Junior said. "It could happen some day."

"Hopefully not with that Maeve woman," Mary shuddered. With Junior accompanying them, Maeve finally let Junior's parents in the house, and he told them to sit down while he and Maeve had a word.

"Those are my _parent_ s!" He whispered angrily. "Why didn't you let them in the house?"

"I didn't know they were your parents!" Maeve hissed. "If they were coming today, you should have told me!"

"Well, I forgot, all right?" Junior spat. "Now, they already think you're crazy. Apologize and do what you can to correct that impression. You did it with Sarah and Josh, and this is not much different."

"Fine," Maeve nodded. "I'll be nice to your parents. But I wish you hadn't forgotten they were coming so I ended up making a total fool of myself." She paused. "Or did you do that on purpose? Be honest."

"No, I genuinely forgot!" Junior promised and then looked at her clothes made her seem more like a dominatrix than a woman living in a quiet middle class neighborhood. "And please go change, would you? Into something a bit more...normal-looking? They won't judge us for living together when we're not married because Ellie was conceived in their house when Sarah and I weren't, but the clothes...they're a little intimidating when seeing you for the first time."

"Okay, whatever." Maeve rolled her eyes.

When she came back to the living room and set eyes on Mary and Junior's father Liam again, she was wearing jeans, sneakers, a rock band t-shirt, and a disarming smile. "Hi," she told them. "I'm Maeve. Sorry about the confusion before. We've never met and your son neglected to mention you were coming today, so I hope you can understand why I was confused by the sight of you. To make amends, can I get anyone a drink?"

"Beer, please!" Liam told her, shaking out his shaggy blond hair.

"And I would like some peppermint tea if it's not too much trouble," Mary said. Then she looked at Junior. "You still have peppermint tea, don't you?"

"Yes," Junior nodded. "I have some just for you."

Maeve went off to get the drinks and Liam remarked, "You know, when she doesn't think you're an intruder, she's not that bad."

Mary nodded. "She has potential."

"Well, I'm glad you think so," Junior said and leaned forward to whisper in his mother's ear. "That's what I've been trying to tell her. She moved here because she thinks it'll prove me wrong, but I still truly believe that the longer she lives here, the more she'll like it and the happier we'll both be."

"What were you talking about?" Maeve asked, coming in with Liam's beer and Mary's tea.

"Oh, nothing," Junior grinned as he pulled her down beside him and put an arm around her. "Just how glad I am to have you here."

Maeve just gave him a look, but inside, she was kind of glad she was there too, even if she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud yet. She gave a small smile, then leaned into Junior as he thrilled his parents with the fictitious version of how they'd met and how she'd come to move in with him. It was a much better story than the real thing, and she made note of it in case anyone asked her the same question, cause it was better than anything _she_ could come up with. Much more romantic and sweet, anyway. That was for sure.


	59. Pleasure Not Pain

Vincent was really pleased about what had happened between him and Lauren in the car after she'd been terrorized. For whatever reason, she'd really opened up, and he'd loved it, even if he had no idea why she'd decided to change in the first place. But she had, and who questioned a miracle? He hoped she stayed that way. That she continued to be as open and free with him as she had been in those moments in the car. But he doubted it. That was the result of a very tense situation and now he just had to wait for her to go back to her usual conservative self. Unless...

He went to her room and pressed the button on her door, then waited. When she came to the door, she gestured for him to come inside.

When they were both sitting down, he opened his mouth to start talking, but she put up a hand and pulled out her phone, gesturing for him to do it also. He did, and she began texting.

 **I'm glad you came. I wanted to talk to you about what happened at the club the other night. Thank you for rescuing me. That...that was really nice of you. If you hadn't done what you did, those jerks probably would have killed me.**

Vincent read this over, nodded, and texted back. **No problem. You didn't deserve that.** He decided to leave out how he'd had her attackers slowly and painfully tortured. He figured she wouldn't appreciate it.

 **But,** she continued, **even though we did what we did in the car, and if I'm completely honest, I enjoyed it a little, we can't keep doing it. It was a one time thing. Now that it's all over, let's put it behind us and bring things back to how they were before. I think that would be best.**

Vincent groaned as he punched in each letter of his reply with more force than was perhaps necessary. **I knew you would say that, but** _ **why?**_ **Why deny yourself when you just said you had a good time?**

Lauren sighed. She really didn't want to go into that and it frustrated her that he wouldn't just accept what she said and moved on. But since he wouldn't, she took a deep breath and began to explain, punching in the words slowly.

 **You're less of a pain than you used to be. I'm even starting to get used to behavior I found repulsive at first. I don't condone it, but I'm getting used to it. And the fact that I liked being with you...that's a problem because you and I both know that I'm not gonna be here forever. Sooner or later, the police will come for me and I'll never see you again and I just can't be really attached to someone knowing that I'm going to be taken away from them forever. I just can't.**

Vincent looked at her message in awe. Was he reading this? Did she actually tell him that she liked him a little? Wow, that was not something he expected. But still very sweet.

 **Even if the police come** , he reminded her, **you can tell them it was all a big misunderstanding and that you want to stay with us. It's not like they can drag you out of our house against their will.**

Lauren sighed and wrote back. **I suppose not, but I don't have any fighting skills or anything if they don't believe me or don't listen and decide to take me away anyway. I don't want any trouble.**

Vincent chuckled, came over, and gently kissed her hair before returning to his seat and replying. **If that's what you're worried about, you know I can take care of it. You saw how I took care of people at the club and got you out of there. It would be the same sort of thing with the police.**

Lauren sighed. **It's not that I'm not grateful for what you did,** she assured him, even giving him a smiley face in the text. **I am. But dealing with a bunch of ruffian bullies is not the same as dealing with the police.**

 **The police can be bullies too,** Vincent pointed out. **Haven't you been watching the news? I have.**

 **As long as you're here,** Lauren typed because clearly this conversation was not going to end if she didn't end it herself, **do you want to do a sign language lesson? We can finish the alphabet and start greetings. I'm very pleased with how you're doing.**

Vincent came right next to her and held up his phone so she could see it as he typed. **All right, but remember what I said about being rewarded when I do a good job. I have just the thing in mind. You're going to love it!**

* * *

"Okay!" Vincent shouted some time later and hit the arm of the chair he was sitting in triumph as he managed to learn his first sign language greeting and repeat it back to Lauren without screwing it up (although most of the time, he'd messed up on purpose cause he liked the feeling of her holding his hand and playing with his fingers.) "I'm done!"

Lauren rolled her eyes as he grabbed her hand and began pulling her up from the chair, but making her budge was harder than he wanted it to be. He finally picked her up and brought her to the nearest bathroom with a big bath, undressed, and then zapped up a tiny red bikini and held it out to Lauren with a grin, waggling his eyebrows.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head and backed up toward the open bathroom door. When she had disappeared, Vincent just shook his head and undressed, running the water in the bath, then climbing in and waiting for her, although he really wondered if she was going to come back.

She did at last, but when he saw what she was wearing, he _wished_ she would have stayed away. He slapped his forehead and sighed. Instead of a sexy bathing suit, she was wearing a large t-shirt, and a black one piece bathing suit underneath that Vincent could just make out. And to make things worse, her hair was still up. She took slow steps toward the tub, got in, and stared at him without blinking as if to say, 'What now'?

That was the question. Then, using his magic, he made his note pad float from the table by the sink along with the pen and hover in Lauren's view as the pen scribbled, **take that damn stuff off, would you? You can't bathe in a t-shirt and a bathing suit!**

Lauren gave him a determined nod and then splashed him. Then he splashed her. Then she splashed him again and he grabbed her and kissed her, his hands moving over her body and tearing the suit and shirt right off her. That made her eyes widen as well as his and then she gave him a slap to his face. She started to get out, the shirt and suit hanging from her waist, but then Vincent put a hand on her arm and gently pulled her backward to sit.

He looked genuinely contrite as he apologized and then finally coaxed her out of the t-shirt, although she kept the suit on to cover what it would, even if it wasn't much.

Then he grabbed a bottle of his sister's jasmine scented body wash and a loofah, but some wash on the loofah, then held it out to her. Lauren hesitated, then turned her body a little, offering her shoulder. He grinned and started there, then, since Lauren didn't indicate that he had to stop, washed both her arms, her hands, her neck. Then he paused and handed her loofah and averted his eyes so she could wash things that shouldn't be too intimate for him to handle after what they'd done in the car, but he didn't want to push his luck with the mood she was in now.

When she finally tapped him on the shoulder, he turned and she gave him a small grin, holding a shampoo/conditioner 2 in 1 bottle out to him.

He hesitated. It was too good to be true. Was this a trap? Would she hold it against him later? Or was this the beginning of her loosening up and letting him in?

Finally, he took the bottle from her, his breath catching as he let her hair out of its bun to wash it, wondering just how much it took each wash to get her hair clean. The shampoo smelled like a mix of vanilla and nectarine and it...it was wonderful. He was sniffing so often, he was glad it wasn't possible to get high off the stuff.

Then after his hands and arms were covered in suds along with her hair, he used his magic to bring the shower head down and then made water spring from it, worrying for a moment that it would be too hot. But when Lauren didn't protest, he just kept rinsing further and further down, loving the way her hair felt under his fingers and knowing it would be even softer once it was dry.

After her hair was completely free of suds, he got out and offered her his hand. He didn't miss the way her eyes swept his body as she got out herself and grabbed a towel to cover herself with.

He put a towel around his waist and they headed to the sink, where he dug around under it for his sister's hair dryer, plugged it in, and took up a bush in his other hand. As he dried her hair, he gently brushed it and with each stroke of the brush, some scent escaped and he breathed in, his eyes closed as he felt his body relax.

He thought that with the length she had, it would take much longer than it did to dry her hair, and he was very sad when it was all over and he had to unplug the dryer and put the brush down. Then he realized that things didn't have to end then. No. He could still have more time with her. But first they would have to leave this bathroom. So he opened the door, picked Lauren up, and left the bathroom, making sure the door was closed behind him.

* * *

Lauren was both surprised and not surprised when Vincent swept her off her feet, carrying her out of the bathroom and into his bedroom, where he put her on his bed, slowly removing her ripped clothing and towel after he took off his towel first. Then he climbed in bed next to her and loomed over her, grinning as he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, both of her cheeks, and her lips.

As he pulled away to look at her, he saw her eyes widen and her tongue slowly slide over her bottom lip. This was encouraging. But then it got better. She ran his hand slowly down her neck and over her belly, then he helped her sit up and soon his hand was gliding over her legs and thighs as well. When it got to her inner thighs, he thought she would stop, but no. He soon touched her inner thighs too, his hand moving ever closer to her center as he was overcome by the strongest urge to taste her that he had ever felt.

When she began rubbing herself with his hand, he smiled, keeping his eyes on her until she climaxed, and then after she got up to go to the bathroom, she came back and lay down again.

 **Now you can touch me,** read her next message. **Taste me, please.**

What was going on? Vincent wondered. Why did she keep letting him do things that would make him happy when usually she was so against it? But at the same time, who was he to question a miracle? He gave her a smile, then got on his knees and parted her legs, licking her gently and all the while, keeping his eyes on her beautiful face before, to his dismay, he got a look at the clock on the bedside table. Ironically, it was time for him to check on the progress that was being made with her tormentors. They just ruined things for everyone, didn't they?

"I have to go now," he told her reluctantly. "I don't want to, but I do. But I'll be back later, I promise." He then got up to dress and head out, pausing by the door to give her a longing look as she sat up and looked back at him before shaking his head and telling himself to focus on business.

* * *

"Thanks so much for deciding to come home to visit us!" Sybil exclaimed, hugging her son after coming to meet the car when Klaus parked in the driveway. "Come in, come in! We have your room all set up for you!"

Christopher smiled. It always made his mother so happy when he came to visit. It had been a little overwhelming at first, but without that constant affection, it was beginning to feel nice when he _did_ get it.

"Ask him about Hannah," Klaus encouraged her. "You'll want to know the story he's going to tell you!"

"I think there are other things we can talk about besides his love life," Sybil told him, then sat Christoper down on the sofa. "You look wonderful!" She told her son. "How are things? Have you made any friends?"

"I have, actually," Christopher nodded. "I don't know if I told you how well Lucifer's son Vincent and I get along. Also, Hannah and I are on a break at the moment, but I met a new girl named Alice to hang out with in the meantime."

"Yeah," Klaus grinned widely and made quotation marks with his fingers. "'Hang out with'."

"No, I'm serious!" Christopher insisted. "That's what we do!"

"You don't have to prove yourself to him," Sybil assured him. "If that's all you and Alice do, that's all right, especially if you and Hannah are on a break!"

The doorbell rang and Christopher tensed. "Is that her?" He wanted to know. "Hannah, I mean? Did you invite her to come here?"

"No," Sybil shook her head. "I don't believe we did." She went to see who it was, and soon came back into the living room with Alistair on her heels. "Remember him, Christopher?" She asked.

"Well, yeah!" Christopher nodded, grinning as he went to hug the first person he'd thought of as a parent. "Of course! How could I forget Alistair?" He then sat down and asked. "How are you?"

"Good," Alistair nodded. "Great! How are you? I've heard you live with Lucifer now."

"It's not as bad as it might seem," Christopher assured him.

"Yeah!" Klaus added. "He's making friends and he even sleeps inside now. See? I'm not a bad parent!"

"I never said you were," Alistair assured him. "You and Sybil both did the best thing you could do in a difficult situation."

"Tell him about your girlfriend!" Klaus encouraged Christopher. "Tell him about Hannah."

"Oh, don't do that to him, Klaus," Alistair ordered as he noticed how deeply Christopher was blushing. "Would you like to go talk privately in the kitchen?" He asked Christopher in a low voice. "You don't have to tell me about your girlfriend if you don't want to."

"Yes," Christopher nodded, then turned to Sybil. "Mom, you can come too!"

"All right," Sybil got to her feet. "Thank you!"

"Why can't I come?" Klaus asked when he tried to rise and Alistair put a spell on him to stop his movement until the rest of them were out of sight.

"Because if you come, we know how the conversation's going to go and we want to talk about other things," Alistair told him patiently.

"Oh, all right," Klaus sighed. "If I promise not to ask about Hannah, can I come?"

"Yes," Alistair nodded. "If you promise."

He did and they all headed to the kitchen where Christopher told them about the daily goings-on at Lucifer's mansion until he was interrupted by the phone ringing. He saw the number and groaned. It was Hannah. He really didn't want to talk to her. But she wouldn't give up. She just kept calling. Finally, he let out a growl of frustration, excused himself, and went to answer her call.

"What do you want?" He snapped. "Most people would take the hint if someone didn't answer their calls!"

"I just wanted to apologize for bringing that guy to the club the other night," Hannah said. "I wanted to get a rise out of you, but if it actually hurt your feelings, I'm sorry. That's all I want to say."

"Thank you," Christopher told her in surprise. "That's...that's very nice of you. If you have anything else to say, say it quick because I'm with my parents. At their house."

"Oh!" Hannah told him. "Sorry about that. I didn't know. I've said what I wanted to say. Go enjoy being with your parents. Goodbye."

"Bye," Christopher told her before she ended the call. That was nice of her. Or else it was part of an elaborate plot to trick him. He wasn't sure. Until he could be certain, he decided, he wouldn't answer any of her phone calls. If he wanted to talk to her, _he_ would make the first move. That was that.

"Everything okay?" Sybil asked when he returned.

"Yeah," Christopher nodded, doing his best to ignore his father's twitching as he tried to restrain himself from asking the question that he so badly wanted to ask. "Everything is fine."


	60. What A Wonderful World

"I am so sorry about what happened at the club," Lucifer apologized to Roxie. "Kids and their powers, you know. Especially when they just start using them..." he chuckled awkwardly and pushed forth his empty glass for another glass of whiskey.

"You know what?" Roxie asked. "How about you come around and pour me a double? And then you can have another glass for yourself?"

"Well, all right," Lucifer nodded. "That seems fair."

"And I...I guess I can accept what happened to the club," Roxie continued. "Kind of karma for what Mom and I did to you, tricking you how we did. You had this look on your face after you were told the truth that just _shouted_ that you wanted us to pay for what we'd done without saying a word." She gasped. "Did you _tell_ Vincent to set the place on fire? Like a loan shark thing?"

"No, no!" Lucifer assured her. "That was all my son. But since I bet he's got his mother's sense of ethics in him somewhere, I bet he had a reason to do what he did, did he?"

Roxie sighed. "You're not gonna like hearing this, but things got a little rowdy, and his little girlfriend got hurt. Some of the patrons were offended that a human came in and took their frustrations out on her and that's what inspired him to turn the place into a raging inferno. Luckily, nothing was wrecked that couldn't be fixed with magic."

"Well, if Vincent was saving the life of an innocent girl who was hurt because of your negligence and your club was burned down in the process, I should _hope_ that's your attitude," Lucifer told her, and then pushed her drink her way. But he looked so incensed that she was scared to drink it. Who knew what he'd put in there.

"Why are you hesitating?" Lucifer grinned. "What's wrong with your drink?"

"I don't know," Roxie shrugged. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Nothing's wrong," Lucifer assured her. "I didn't do anything to it."

"Are you sure?" Roxie questioned. "I don't know if I can trust you."

"Well, if I didn't kill you for making me look like a fool, why would I this time?" Lucifer asked. "I'm sure what happened with Lauren won't be repeated and that you're genuinely sorry that it happened in the first place?"

"Of course!" Roxie nodded earnestly. "I don't like seeing _anyone_ get hurt!"

"Well, there you go then," Lucifer replied. "That's why you get psychologically manipulated but not full-on tortured."

"So I can drink this?" Roxie held out the drink and shook it a little.

"Of course," Lucifer nodded. "Or you can dump it, which you will most likely do, thus missing out on one of my most wonderful and inventive concoctions."

Roxie gingerly took a sip from the cup and realized that it didn't taste weird or fizz or bubble or make her drop to the floor and convulse, so it was probably okay to drink, which she did. "Not bad," she told him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Lucifer nodded. "My pleasure."

As they sat in silence and drank their drinks, Lucifer turned his stool and looked with interest at a painting hanging behind one of the couches on the wall across from his stool, a dark scene of the artist's interpretation of what the Anger circle of Hell looked like. "That's a cheerful thing to put in a night club," he remarked.

"Oh, I know," Roxie nodded. "But my sister's always painted like that and I feel I should support her."

Lucifer's eyes widened. "The woman who paints those pictures is your sister?"

"Yeah, Lucy's my sister," Roxie grinned. "It's how she copes with all her inner darkness. She can paint flowers and cute little animals and stuff but you have to ask for it special."

"Isn't that fun?" Lucifer grinned. "It should come as no surprise to you that I aim to have her entire Hell collection in its entirety."

"I could introduce you," Roxie offered. "Would you like that? Although I have to warn you...when she's not painting, she can be a bit of a stick in the mud."

"Oh, I'm used to that," Lucifer promised. "I'm related to people just like her."

"Yeah," Roxie nodded. "I bet you are." She gulped down her drink and went to make herself another one, then asked, one last time, just to be sure. "Are you positive Lauren's recovered from what happened? And Vincent? I really hope they're okay."

"I think he'll be all right," Lucifer nodded. "And thanks to what Vincent did, I think Lauren's doing fine too. I just hope Eleanor isn't too hard on him when she finds out what he did."

"Do you really think she would be if she knew that he set the fire to save someone?" Roxie questioned and boosted herself up on the bar.

"I wouldn't think so," Lucifer shook his head. "Or at least I hope not. But he might think she would be. And that could be a problem."

* * *

"Can we talk?" Vincent asked Ellie. He knew his father would be on his side about what happened at the club, but he had a feeling his mother would be a bit tougher and wanted to have everything about that whole situation out in the open before she found out somewhere else and accused him of keeping it from her.

Ellie nodded and he grabbed her hand. They headed to his bedroom and he went back to writing out what he wanted to say.

 **The other night, me and a bunch of people, including Lauren, went out to the Underground. I thought it would be nice for her to get out and have a little fun, you know? But some of the supernatural patrons got pissed off when they realized that a human got in and they just...**

He took a deep breath, trying to bypass the catch in his throat as he was brought back to what the jerks at the club had done to Lauren.

 **They hurt her,** he wrote. **They humiliated her and made her walk around the club on her hands and knees with a rope around her neck like a dog! And when I found out, I couldn't let it stand, so...**

Ellie put a hand on his as he paused and a few tears fell onto his paper.

 **So what? Sweetie, what happened?** She wrote back.

 **So I got mad and I set the place on fire before getting her out!** Vincent cried and threw himself into his mother's arms, trying to block the memory so he wouldn't howl like a wounded animal as he found his voice. "I only hurt the people who hurt Lauren. Everyone else got out okay. Please don't be mad at me!"

He looked at Ellie, silently begging her to understand. She didn't speak at first, but then gave him a hug and smiled before writing, **A bad temper is something we all have to learn how to control. But as I don't always control mine, I'm the last person who should be judging, especially since you were the only one in the place who could have fought for Lauren like you did. What was done to her was awful and it shows how remarkable she is that she came out of it so well. Not to mention the fact that she couldn't have done it without your help. You should be proud. I am.**

"Really?" Vincent got out, feeling relieved.

Ellie nodded and hoped that was enough to assure him of her support so that he didn't beat himself up. **You did a good thing, Vincent. Just don't go around randomly setting things on fire when you get angry because you can, okay?** She held up the note.

 **Right,** Vincent agreed, scribbling again **. I won't. I promise. This was an extreme case.**

 **I'm very glad to hear it,** Ellie returned. **Good for you.**

* * *

Later, Kai's wife Victoria came to visit with Lenora on her heels and when he heard her voice, of course Kai sprinted out of the kitchen and ran into his wife's arms. "Vicky! You've come to take me back!"

"Not forever," Victoria said. "I thought we could go out to lunch after you did all your chores, though."

"Oh, we can go now," Kai assured her. "I bet Lucifer wouldn't mind if I waited to do the stuff later just this once." He eyed Ellie, who was sitting nearby. "Right?"

"I wouldn't have any problem waiting," Ellie told him with a shrug. "But just to be safe, get them done before you go. It'll be nicer going knowing that you won't have work hanging over your head when you get back, right?"

"Damn, you have a good point," Kai frowned, not wanting to wipe the guck off the dishes. It was his least favorite chore. "I hate that!" He came to stand behind Victoria and kissed her hair. "I guess I have to get that done," he told her. "You don't mind waiting, do you?"

"Oh, no," Victoria shook her head, her brown eyes full of laughter. "I can find a way to amuse myself while you're gone. Don't worry about it."

Kai stomped off then and Victoria turned back to Ellie and Lenora.

"So, how are things going?" Lenora asked Ellie. "I heard from my brother that my nephew's got a new girlfriend."

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "Lucifer's left hand woman moved in with him. It's something I'm still getting used to. But if it makes Dad happy, I guess I'm not against it. If he can put his own feelings about my being with Lucifer, or at least not act on them every chance he gets, I suppose I can return the favor about him and Maeve."

"How does your mom feel about it?" Lenora wanted to know. "Has she said anything?"

"No, but I don't think she's angry," Ellie shook her head. "I mean, she's with my dad and they're happy, so..."

"Yeah," Lenora nodded. "I guess you're right. That's like what happened when Mom and Dad broke up and she went to be with Malachai and he went with Molly. They were both much happier after that and they're still friends now."

"Anything else interesting going on?" Victoria questioned. "Less complicated, I mean?"

"Well, it's not exactly less complicated, but I think Vincent's turned a corner. He's fallen in love!"

"He has?" Both Victoria and Lenora asked, leaning forward eagerly. "With whom?"

"Lauren," Ellie murmured. "The human woman who's teaching him sign language! He's gonna deny it because he's all sensitive about having it out in the open, but I really think it's a thing. He saved her when she was being bullied at the Underground and now he's got Maeve torturing the people responsible!"

"Yep," Lenora nodded. "That's love, all right! I know James would do that for me!"

"Yep," Victoria nodded with a smile. "And Kai, too." Then they lapsed into silence as Vincent came into the kitchen to root in the refrigerator. The way they watched him made him suspicious and after scribbling it quickly, he put a note on the table that said, **Why are you all looking at me like that? What's going on?**

Knowing that she couldn't keep it from him (and not wanting to, if she was totally honest), Ellie wrote back, **I was just telling Victoria and Lenora how much you love Lauren and how happy that makes me because she's so good for you.**

This made Vincent roll his eyes and then angrily scribble out another message. **I'm not! I can't be! She's human and that can only lead to tragedy.**

Ellie sighed and put a hand on his arm. **Just because it's complicated doesn't mean you can't feel what you're feeling. It's only gonna hurt to make you deny it.**

Vincent shook his head and narrowed his eyes at her, but at last had to admit his mother was right. He did love Lauren. But for both of their sakes, maybe it was better if he kept it to himself. She'd already been hurt once because of his desire to be close to her, and he didn't want it to happen again, no matter how much it would cost him. He had to stop thinking of himself and think of her. That's all there was to it.

* * *

The next day, Lauren didn't see Vincent at all. He skipped out on their sign language lesson. At first, she thought it was just a trick and soon he would jump out of a closet or something, grab her, and carry her off to his bedroom. Not that she minded that, if she was being totally honest. But he should at least get some learning done first. It was only right!

She had just come out of the bathroom they'd had their last encounter in when she ran into Valerie.

 **Can you tell me where Vincent is?** She wrote. **He's late for his sign language lesson.**

Valerie sighed and shook her head. **He's not late. He's been locked in his room ever since he confessed to Mom about the fire at the club. Not that he's ashamed of saving you, of course. He would probably kill himself and go to hell if you were in danger and that was the only way to fix it. But when he saved you, there was some collateral damage. Again, that doesn't matter to him, but he feels bad that it was his fault that you got hurt so bad in the first place, since you going to a club of demons and other supernatural creatures when you would be the only human there, and thus very vulnerable, was his idea.**

Lauren's jaw dropped a little. Of all the solutions to where Vincent was, that was one that she hadn't expected. She didn't even think he was capable of being upset because every rebuff she'd given him had just rolled off his back and encouraged him to start again. Apparently, he wasn't that way with everything. Who knew?

She thanked Valerie, headed to Vincent's room, and went in without knocking. Not that he would have noticed if she had. He wasn't wearing a shirt or anything, but was sprawled out magnificently naked on top of his bed sheets. Had he hoped she was coming and was giving her this view as a reward?

She tiptoed to his bed and began running her hands through his hair and over his back, smiling to herself as she felt his muscles loosen, and then grinning even wider when he turned on his back, his eyes wide with shock, and saw that it was she who was touching him.

She grinned and ran her hands over his abs and his mouth opened and closed slightly as if he were trying to control his breathing. He had to wonder if it was a dream. Was he really seeing this? He waited and she was still there. She didn't disappear. He sat up and put a hand under her chin, gesturing for her to pause for a moment, and she groaned. He was making her stop again when they both wanted it so badly?

He got out of bed and kissed her quickly, then went in search of a few things: whipped cream, condoms, and a brush. He grabbed it all and hoped that he would just be able to sprint back without anyone stopping him. No one he ran into could possibly not embarrass him about this.

But he got back without trouble and nearly dropped all the stuff on the floor when he saw that Lauren had changed while he'd been gone. Now she was grinning as she wore the red bikini bottoms he'd wanted her to wear before, but no top. He inched closer to her, his eyes roaming over her body as he put the things on the bad, his jaw dropping when she let her hair down and it covered her chest. No wonder she wasn't wearing the bikini top.

She rested on her side and it was only then that he realized how long her legs were. He hadn't noticed before because they were usually covered by her skirts, but now that he knew, he liked what he saw. She crooked her finger and gestured for him to come join her as a smile curved her lips and it didn't take long for him to obey.

He reached for a condom after slowly peeling off her panties, but she shook her head. He thought she was being daring, but then he realized that he was acting too early. She took his hand in her hers and began massaging his palm with her fingers, then kissed his long fingers gently before playing with them for a little while. He had such long, lovely fingers...

She found the whipped cream and put some on his index finger, then stuck it in her mouth, sucking gently as she kept her eyes on his, she wanted his reaction to what she was doing, just as he always wanted hers. She was new at this and wanted to make sure she didn't screw it up.

He felt the vibration of the growl escaping his throat as he pulled her close and then pushed them both backwards onto the mattress. Then he was afraid he'd hurt her, but when he looked into her eyes, they were bright and sparkling. She was clearly enjoying herself. She grabbed his face and brought it down to kiss him as he took some of her hair, brought it up to his nose, and inhaled deeply before holding the condom over her head. She grabbed it and then he pulled her to sit up and together, they got it on. Then he pulled her to him again, thinking about how to handle the rest of it. He didn't want to shock or hurt her. He wanted to ease her into it, so that the feeling of him inside her didn't ruin everything. Then, he got an idea. It was totally obvious and he had no idea why he was only just thinking of it now. He smiled at her and kissed her, and then, as they did that, he slipped one of his long fingers inside her, gently, over and over again, watching her face closely. She didn't seem to be in any distress. In fact, she really seemed to be enjoying herself.

Then, when he finally pulled it out of her, her eyes fell to his cock, which by now, of course, was hard and swollen. She couldn't touch it directly because of the condom, but she reached out and stroked it gently, nodding.

"Come inside me," she said. "Please."

And with permission, he was off, easing her back down onto the mattress and burying himself inside her over and over again until they both collapsed next to each other in his bed, their bodies near exhaustion.

They snuggled as they caught their breaths. They were both warm after what they'd done, but at the same time, their bodies were covered in goosebumps. They smiled at one another as Lauren scooted as close as she could and gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you," she said. He reached for the brush on the bedside table, then motioned for her to sit up so he could put one arm around her waist and brush her hair.

As he did so, she got out, "That was nice. I liked it."

Her voice was beautiful and now he was certain (although he wasn't sure how,) that he could hear again. To say he was pleased was an understatement. He wanted to tell her, but then decided not to make the moment about him. Instead, he just hugged her close, kissed her hair, and rested his head against hers.


	61. Favors For The Devil

Now that Vincent knew he could hear (and was more comfortable talking out loud as a consequence), it was really hard to keep it from people. It wasn't hard to keep it from Lauren because he knew it was the only way to keep her near him. He had this terrible sense that if she knew he could talk, she wouldn't want anything to do with him anymore.

One thing having sex with her (and learning sign language from her) had taught him was that she was as in love with his long, graceful fingers as he was with her hair and her legs. He tried to think of other ways to help her get pleasure from them that didn't involve nakedness. One day he got an idea that would be a good time for them both: while his father was out, and after he and Lauren had finished a sign language lesson, he took her into his Lucifer's music room and gestured for her to sit next to him on the piano bench.

 **I don't know about this,** she wrote. **You _know_ I can't hear the music.**

 **Beethoven couldn't hear either** , Vincent returned. **And _he_ was a musician.** He zapped up sheet music for _Fur Elise_ , and began playing it, and even though she couldn't hear the music very well, Lauren couldn't take her eyes off his fingers as they slid deftly across the keys. It began to stir things inside her, and she ended up writing a proposal to him that made his eyes widen: She wanted him to make love to her against the music room wall, and if they had the energy, under, or on top of, the piano.

He turned to face her, then began writing. **Are you _sure_ about this?**

Lauren nodded and then learned forward to blow in and then nibble on, his ear. **I want to forget you having sex with that other girl against the wall,** she wrote. **I just want to think about you doing that with me.**

Vincent nodded. **Good enough,** he scribbled. **Against the wall or under the piano first?**

They decided to start with the wall and then go under the piano when they had less energy left and needed a more relaxing position. That decided, Vincent got up from the piano bench, then picked her up bridal style and carried her over to a wall between two ceiling to floor sized windows. Then he gave Lauren a grin as he unzipped his pants and let them fall down to his ankles before he kicked them off and did the same thing with his boxers soon after, standing in front of Lauren with nothing but a grin as her gaze brazenly swept over his lithe body.

Then she grinned back and pulled her hair out of its tie before shaking it out, then turning around so Vincent could unzip the zipper and help her get her dress off.

Once they were both naked, they kissed each other furiously for a while, then after the condom business was taken care of, she grinned and threw her arms around his neck so he could lift her up, brace her against the wall, and bury himself inside her.

It was harder than it looked because even though her legs were wrapped around his waist, sometimes they were so busy kissing and running their hands all over each other that he forgot he had to hold her up and he nearly dropped her a couple of times, grabbing her just in time before she fell too far.

When they climaxed, they both ended up tumbling onto the floor, then after making sure that she was okay, Vincent led her under the piano, then zapped up some blankets and a pillow.

Lauren watched this with some awe, although she was more used to it now than a normal person would be. After pulling the blankets over themselves, he kissed her belly and pleasured her with his tongue before pulling her close and cuddling her as she, for a change, ran her fingers through _his_ hair while he just sniffed hers.

* * *

While Vincent and Lauren were hanging out in his music room, Lucifer was out and about in town. He had just sat down to lunch when he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Roxie running toward him and waving with another woman behind her, who had short blonde hair and was wearing a red, white, and black dress.

"Hi," Roxie greeted and sat down next to him. "Are we interrupting your lunch?"

"No," Lucifer grinned and reached out his hand to the blonde. "Who's 'We'?"

Roxie smiled wider. "Lucifer, this is my sister, Lucy, the person who paints all those Hell pictures you like."

"I really love your work," Lucifer grinned at Lucy, who blushed and put her hand in his. "I have never met anyone outside of myself who depicts Hell so well. Is it your own imagination, or...?"

"No, I can't take all the credit," Lucy shook her head. "You must've told Mom about Hell when you were with her before, right? Cause she's the one who talks me through it when I paint."

"And I hear that you're the moral one," Lucifer grinned and leaned forward. "Does it bother you that your mother and I had an association at one point?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "You can't be any worse than my dad, right? And I mean, based on some of the thoughts I've had of bad things I want to do to people, who am I to judge, really?"

"I like your attitude," Lucifer told her with a smile. "I wish _more_ people were open minded just like you are."

Lucy smiled. "So...how much of my work do you have?"

"I would say I'm very much a fan," Lucifer told her. "Now...I just have to ask: do you do commissions?"

"Sure," Lucy nodded. "What do you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that I might ask you to paint a lovely portrait of my wife," Lucifer informed her. "I would love to have a painting of Eleanor around."

"Sure," Lucy nodded. "I would be happy to paint your wife."

"I would be careful about saying 'Yes' so quickly if I were you," Roxie advised her sister. "He probably wants you to paint a naked picture of Ellie and I bet he's never even mentioned it to her."

"Well, I'm not shocked about painting anyone naked," Lucy assured Lucifer. "I've done it more than you would think."

"Yes, but painting your boyfriends naked is different from painting a total stranger naked," Roxie told her. "Do you think you could paint a total stranger naked?"

"Of course," Lucy nodded. "I'm a professional. But first, before I officially take on the job, I want to have a talk with your wife and see if she'll be okay with this."

"Oh, all right," Lucifer sighed impatiently. "If it works for you, you can come with me when I'm through here. Is that all right with you?"

"Yes," Lucy nodded. "That's fine."

* * *

So she and Roxie ordered drinks and waited for Lucifer to finish his food, then Lucy bade her sister goodbye and headed with Lucifer to his office, where it didn't take long for Ellie to join them after coming back from her latest journey into Hell.

"Lucifer, who's this?" She asked when she saw Lucy.

"This is that artist who makes all the wonderful Hell paintings I like," Lucifer informed her. "Eleanor, Lucy Mikaelson, Lucy Mikaelson, my wife, Eleanor."

"Nice to meet you," Ellie shook Lucy's hand. "Can I get you a coffee or something?"

"No, thanks," Lucy shook her head. "I'm good."

Ellie went to get some coffee for herself and then came back, pulling another chair to the desk so she could sit opposite Lucy and her husband. "So...what's going on?" She asked.

"Lucifer would like me to do a particular portrait of you and I wanted to know if you would be agreeable to it," Lucy told her. "Would you mind if I painted you without any clothes on? I promise you I'm very professional." She then sat back and waited to be turned down because Ellie seemed like a very buttoned down type while Lucifer was the sort to come up with a plan like this just to see the horrified look on his wife's face. But instead, she just grinned.

"You know, it's weird you're bringing this up now because I was pondering having some boudoir photos taken." She gave Lucy a look. "Do you just do painting? Or do you do photographs as well?"

"I can do photographs if that works for you," Lucy nodded. "And it would give him something to look at while he waits for your painting to be done. If you're okay with that."

"Of course," Ellie nodded. "You say you're profession and I believe you." She looked at her husband. "You picked a really good person to do this. I'm surprised and pleased."

"Why are you surprised?" Lucifer wanted to know. "Did you think i was going to have some pervert in a room with my naked wife painting for hours on end? Come on, Eleanor. You know me better than that!"

"You're right, I do," Ellie nodded. "I'm sorry." Then she stood up. "Everything's fine back at your other home. There were the beginnings of insurrection among the lustful, but boy did I shame them back to where they're supposed to be."

"Good," Lucifer nodded. "I wish I could have seen that!"

Ellie left then and Lucifer turned back to Lucy. "So...you'll take the job, then?"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "Now that I know your wife's okay with it, of course I'll take the job? When do you want me to start?"

"As soon as you possibly can," Lucifer grinned. "Please."

* * *

She left Lucifer's office with a thousand-dollar advance in her purse, and was feeling pretty good about it until she got a call from her uncle.

"We haven't talked in a long time," Elijah remarked as she headed to the front door of her house. "What have you been up to lately? Any new jobs? Why don't you come over and we can talk?"

"Can we do it tomorrow?" Lucy questioned. "I just got back from being out and I'm a bit tired."

"Sure," Elijah nodded. "Of course. I don't care when I see you, I just want to see you. Tomorrow around lunch time?"

"Sure," Lucy confirmed. "Sounds great!" Her uncle then bade her farewell and she headed inside, where her boyfriend William sat in the living room reading a book with a cup of tea beside him. "Hey," she said. "How was your day?"

"Good," he nodded. "Great! Yours wasn't as good, obviously, cause you look a bit put out." He pushed some of his long dark hair out of his eyes and then gestured for her to sit next to him. "Come sit and you can tell me all about whatever it is."

"Oh, it's really not that bad," Lucy told him as she sat down beside him, put her head down on his shoulder, and he brought his arm around her. "I took on a new painting client and I got a good-sized cash advance. We could go out to a really nice dinner later."

"Well, that's wonderful!" William smiled. "I'm so _proud_ of you. But where's the bad part?"

"The bad part is that the client is the literal devil himself, and tomorrow, I have to meet with Uncle Elijah and tell him what I've been up to. And you know Uncle Elijah won't take it well if he finds out that I'm doing work for the _devil_!"

"Well, is it something evil that you're doing for him?" William wanted to know. "Is there a contract signed in _blood_?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "I just have to take one set of naked pictures of his wife and then paint another picture of her. And she's cool, so I think it will be an easy job."

William kissed her. "How long has it been since you've painted or photographed someone naked? Cause you know I'm here if you need to practice."

"Yeah," Lucy nodded, grinned as they undressed on the sofa and began kissing. "I'm so lucky that way."

* * *

William also agreed to come with Lucy when she went to talk to Elijah the next day.

"Lucy! And William too!" Amy smiled when she opened the door and gestured for them to come inside. "It's been way too long since we've seen you! Can't wait to hear what's going on in your lives."

It was a slight exaggeration to say it had been a particularly _long_ time. In the case of her uncle in and aunt, a long time of no communication between the two of them was two days. They saw each other often enough that Elijah and Amy's daughter, Lisa, reached for her as she squirmed madly to get out of her mother's grip.

"She's getting so big!" Lucy remarked about the little girl. "Not so tiny now, is she?"

"No," Amy shook her head. "Getting bigger every day. When I can't carry her anymore, I'm going to be sad." Then she looked at William, blushing a little. "And how are you? Sorry it took me so long to ask."

"Oh, it's fine," William assured her. "Don't worry about it. Not much is going on. Dad's still trying to avoid the Devil, Mom's helping Grandma Astrid hold the Council together...usual thing."

"Right," Amy nodded. "Exactly."

Then Elijah came in and grinned, holding out his arms for a hug, which Lucy readily gave him, all the while silently wishing she'd asked her father the best way to give Uncle Elijah bad news. Or maybe she shouldn't have asked her dad. Maybe she should have asked her cousin Laura. Uncle Elijah had a soft spot for her and she could basically do or say anything and get away with it.

"Before I tell you about my life," she told him, "Can I make a phone call?"

"Certainly," Elijah nodded and straightened his tie. "But who are you calling?"

"No one," Lucy said. "Just someone I promised I'd call and almost forgot."

She then ran off before Elijah could ask any more questions and called her cousin-sister, hoping and praying that Laura was having a slow day at the salon she owned and could afford an hour or so away.

Fortunately, she could, and soon, Lucy was going out to meet her car. "What is it that you need me for?" Laura asked as she got out and reached her cousin. Laura looked most like their mother, with her big blue eyes, porcelain complexion, and long dark hair, only Laura's often had some sort of outlandish color in it, like the neon green that was in it that day. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "I just...I need you to help me give your dad some news that might make him disappointed in me. I took a couple of new jobs, but...they're for the devil. Like the _literal devil._ Uncle Elijah's not gonna like that. I bet he doesn't even know about Mom's deal with him...does he?"

"I'm pretty sure Mom kept that quiet," Laura agreed. "But if we assure him that you're not doing anything nefarious, he won't be too mad." She paused. "You're not doing anything nefarious, are you?"

"No!" Lucy shook her head as they made their way back toward the house. "Just painting a tasteful nude portrait of his wife and also taking some boudoir photos of her. That's it. It's not like I'm corrupting or murdering anyone."

"Well, there you go!" Laura smiled. "And Dad still liked Mom even when he knew she _had_ murdered people, so I think you're safe. But let's get it out in the open right away so you don't have it hanging over your head. Take a deep breath and let's do this."

"Right," Lucy nodded. "Okay."

They made their way inside and gently cut off Elijah's exuberant greeting to Laura. "I can't stay long," Laura told him. "I just came to help Lucy deliver what could be seen as bad news to you."

"What kind of bad news?" Elijah asked, his heart sinking. Sometimes it was hard to remember that she was Niklaus' child, but evidence of it _did_ pop up from time to time. "What's going on? What have you done?"

"I made a deal to do photos and a painting for the devil," Lucy told him. "I know it's bad, but at least I'm not _murdering_ anyone!"

Elijah paused. "Did you just tell me that you're doing work for the devil?" He asked. "Did I hear you correctly?"

"Yes," Laura nodded. "You did. And you can't be mad about it cause you still liked Mom when you know she did worse."

"It's just for art, right?" Elijah questioned. "He's not using you as a tool for evil?"

"No!" Lucy shook her head. "I'm not being used for evil, I promise."

"All right, then," Elijah nodded. "You usually make sound choices. I don't have to worry about you that way. Does it pay well?"

"Yes," Lucy nodded. "I got a thousand dollar advance and more is coming after I finish, of course. William and I are going out to dinner later."

"He did mention that," Elijah nodded. "So nice to see that the two of you are still getting along so well. He's such a nice boy."

Laura and Lucy both snorted at this. "Any man who isn't Damon Salvatore would be a nice boy for me according to you."

"Yes," Elijah told her firmly and straightened the collar of his suit jacket as both women followed him back to the living room to join William, Amy, and Lisa, who had been talking among themselves, because Laura always ended up staying longer than she planned when visiting her dad. "And I'll have you know that I am _always_ going to stand by that."

* * *

So much of what was talked about at Lucifer and Ellie's regarding the date was what Vincent had done for Lauren. Then Ellie realized that Christopher had been there too, but no one had talked to him about what had happened, if he'd had fun, and if he was going to do something like that again.

"Oh, it was a great time," Christopher told her. "Until I ran into your sister, who brought another guy with her that night just to make me jealous. And then she called when I was visiting with Alistair and my parents to say how sorry she was about it. I didn't believe her. I thought it was a trick."

This made Ellie sigh in exasperation, because in her heart, she knew that Christopher and her wild sister were perfect for each other, even though they obviously didn't see it (or didn't want to see it), the way they were always taking two steps forward and three steps back. If she was going to get them on the right track, she would need help and she knew just who to call.

"Mom?" She said at the sound of Sarah's 'Hello'. "Mom, I need your help. I mean," she paused and blushed. "How are you? I know we haven't talked in awhile. I hope things are going well for you."

"Oh, they are," Sarah assured her. "Your dad's well too. Now, what can I do for you? Are you telling me that you're going to come visit?"

"I will soon, I promise," Ellie swore. "But first, I need you to help me get Hannah and Christopher together?"

She heard nothing in response and she thought her mother had fallen over from shock, almost confirmed when her father took the phone next. "What's your mother saying about getting Christopher and Hannah together? What's in your head, Ellie Bean?"

"I'm concerned about Hannah and Christopher," Ellie explained. "Actually, I might be really annoyed too. Cause it is _so_ frustrating to watch them take two steps forward and three steps back when anyone with eyes can tell they love each other when they look at them. Why do they have to be so damn stubborn? I'm especially disappointed in Hannah. Christopher's been through enough in his life. He shouldn't be tricked and led on. She needs to hear that. You don't think he's that bad anymore, do you, Daddy?"

"I was concerned at first," Josh admitted. "That shouldn't come as a surprise to you, since he seemed so wild. But now that he seems to have become comfortable with the idea of living a more normal life, I think...I agree that he and Hannah would be good for one another if we could just get them together."

"You'll help me?" Ellie asked in surprise. "Well, thank you!"

"Yep," Josh assured her. Then she heard her parents conferring with each other before he came back on the line. "Your mother and i will help you with whatever you need," he said. "Just tell us what you need us to do, then we'll do it."

* * *

Before she left for work the next day, Ellie set her plan into motion. "Would you do me a favor while I'm at work?" She asked him. "It's very important."

"Sure," Christopher nodded before swallowing the milk in his cereal bowl. "What do you need?"

"Well, I feel so ridiculous, but...I have a very important document that I need for work, but I accidentally left it at my parents' house last time I was there. Could you go pick it up for me?"

"Why can't you just call Hannah and have her bring it here?" He questioned.

Ellie couldn't think of a good response, so she just stammered an order for him to go or else and then turned away so he couldn't see her blushing face before stomping off to her car.

Christopher wasn't stupid. He knew something was up. Ellie was hardly subtle and this paper she needed him to get was probably just some ruse, but he decided to play along...just to see what would happen.

* * *

When he reached Josh and Sarah's house, he knocked on the door and Ellie's father grinned at the sight of him and insisted he come in and sit. But he remained on the doorstep. "I really just came for the document, sir," he told Josh, swallowing nervously. "Can I have it, please? The one that Ellie said she left here? Then I'll be out of your hair, I promise."

"Oh, we don't want you out of our hair," Josh assured him and pulled him inside. "You're a nice boy and we've hardly had any time to talk alone at all. Why don't you come in and have a drink? Or my wife has made some really good cookies." He called for Sarah and asked her to bring some cookies with her.

"I knew you wanted more of those," Sarah commented and held the sugar cookies out to him. Then her eyes caught sight of Christopher. "Who's this?" She asked.

"This is Christopher, Sarah," Josh introduced him. "You know, the young man Hannah likes to pretend she has no interest in? And Christopher, this is my wife, Sarah."

"Yes, of course," Sarah nodded and shook Christopher's hand. "I'm so sorry about that. We didn't raise her to be like that."

"It's all right, ma'am," Christopher assured her. "I've decided not to dwell on it. It really doesn't bother me." Then he tried to head back to the door. "Thanks for letting me in and all, but if you don't have that document Ellie asked for, I better go..."

"Don't be silly," Sarah said and literally picked him up and carried him to the sofa. Vampire strength did come in handy sometimes. Then she called for her daughter. "Hannah, will you come out here, please?"

"Now I really have to go," Christopher said. He was beginning to feel a bit sick. "I have lots of things to do for your sister before she gets back from work and I don't want her to think she can't trust me!"

"Oh, don't be silly!" Josh brushed this worry aside in a jovial voice. "I'm sure that she'll understand. We'll explain things to her if you get in trouble, I promise!"

Then Hannah came into the room and Christopher rose to his feet as they both stood frozen and open-mouthed at the sight of each other.

After a few seconds of this, Sarah went over and nudged her daughter. "Hannah, say 'Hello' to Christopher. Do you two know each other?"

"We-we've met a couple of times," Hannah got out. "Nothing particularly memorable." She shrugged, but kept her face down so they couldn't see the dark blush that was beginning to color her cheeks.

"Well, don't just stand there when we have a guest!" Josh told his daughter. "Come and sit here on the sofa next to your friend! I'd be more than happy to make room." He stood up and after glaring at her father, Hannah took a seat next to Christopher on the old red sofa, but tried not to get too close to him.

Sarah and Josh watched them. Although they were avoiding each other, there were still movements in their bodies as if they wanted to reach for each other, but were pulling away because they didn't want to show weakness when they were being watched.

"Why don't you come with me and get Christopher some cookies?" Sarah suggested to Hannah. "That would be a nice thing to do, wouldn't it?"

"Fine," Hannah sighed. "Whatever." They came back a few minutes later. Sarah held a plate of cookies and Hannah a glass of milk. She handed it to him and then sat down, taking the cookie plate. "Here," she said, handing Christopher a cookie. "We made them yesterday."

"Thank you," Christopher took a bite. "Oh, my god, this is really good. Thank you!" He automatically gave her a peck on the lips in gratitude and then they both stared at one another in shock when they realized what they'd just done.

"What was that, young lady?" Josh asked. "Do you often kiss people you've just met? Or was I right to let you meet a friend of long-standing? That's what he is right? More than just a friend?"

"Maybe," Hannah sighed. "I don't know though. He's hanging around another girl now."

"What's going on with me and Alice is different than what's going on between me and you," Christopher tried to explain. "I promise. I just didn't want you to feel like you could control me. Like all I was good for was sex. I wanted to have a woman in my life who saw me as more than a object because apparently, you are not that person!"

Josh sighed. "Your way of dealing with that was to just go be with another girl when you clearly still want my daughter? Anyone who looks at the two of you could see that it's obvious! Young man, if you were having problems that you couldn't talk to Hannah about directly, or that you weren't ready to talk to her about directly, you could have stood up for yourself by coming to me instead. You two are just going to drive us all crazy if you don't suck it up and see what's right in front of your faces! And I don't think any of us wants that. Am I wrong?"

There was a silence after this pronouncement. Josh's words had hit both Christopher and Hannah hard, because he was right; they wanted each other but had just been too hurt and stubborn to admit it. Finally, Hannah cleared her throat and got to her feet, catching Christopher's eye.

"If you're not too full of cookies, would you like to come get a burger with me?" She asked.

There was a few seconds of silence before Christopher got to his feet and shook Josh's hand. "Thank you so much for your hospitality," he said without looking at Hannah because he knew that what he was about to say would make her explode. "But I have to meet my friend Alice and I don't want to be late." He then sprinted toward the door and slammed it shut, not waiting for Hannah's reaction, which was not good. She let out a frustrated scream, stomped her foot, and then tossed a pillow at a lamp, sending it to the floor and making the lightbulb break. "I hate him!" She fumed. "I hate that asshole more than I've ever hated anyone in my whole life! I never want to see him again and if he sets foot in this house and I see him, I will kill him!" Then she stomped off and Josh and Sarah could just make out sobbing that Hannah probably didn't want them to hear before her bedroom door was slammed shut.

"Well, that went well, didn't it?" Sarah asked Josh with an awkward laugh as she took his hand and lay her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah," Josh agreed sarcastically. "It couldn't have gone better."


	62. It All Goes To Hell

"Well, look who's here!" Lucifer remarked as Lucy made her way through the house with Dexter ahead of her. "I honestly wasn't sure you were going to be here. I thought you would be too terrified."

"I told you that I wasn't," Lucy replied. "When you gave me that advance, I took it because I was gonna do what I promised. Is your wife here? I want to get started on the painting. Or the pictures, whichever one she wants to do first."

"She's in her library," Dexter informed Lucy. "She spends a lot of time there. I can take you."

"Thanks," Lucy told him and they left as Lucifer called out, "Thanks for doing this, Lucy! I can't wait to see what you come up with!"

* * *

When they found Ellie in the library, she was absorbed in a book and jumped when Dexter touched her shoulder. Then she saw Lucy and smiled. "Right, it's time to start doing the painting today, isn't it?"

"Yep," Lucy nodded. "My easel and stuff is in the car. I wanted to be sure of where you wanted the painting done before I brought everything inside. Or if you wanted to do the photos first."

"Let's do the photos first," Ellie decided and led her to her and Lucifer's bedroom after Dexter bid them goodbye. "It won't take me long to get changed."

"All right," Lucy nodded. "I'll go set up."

As Ellie undressed in the closet, she had time to reflect and be surprised at herself. Here she was, undressing to be photographed by a woman she hardly knew. Maybe being with Lucifer had made her be more open-minded about stuff like that. It wasn't impossible.

As she looked down at her body, though, she felt self-conscious for a minute. She hadn't really noticed before, but now that she was looking, she realized that her tummy had become a lot more rounded lately. Maybe it was all the chocolate chip pancakes she'd been eating lately. She should start eating fruit and vegetables instead. That would stave off the bloating, hopefully. And eating healthier was always a good goal anyway.

She stared at her body until Lucy called, "Everything okay in there? Do you need help?"

"No!" She snapped out of it. "Sorry." She got on her bathrobe and then headed out into the bedroom, removing it and posing on the bed for several shots with strategically placed pillows and sheets before she finally took a breath and bared all for the last few shots.

"You know, I'm very impressed," Lucy told her after she'd put her camera down and Ellie had put her robe back on. "I've done a couple of other shots like this, and usually, it takes a bit more coaxing to get the poses done."

"Really?" Ellie asked. "Even if people decide they want to do a photo shoot like this?"

"Yep," Lucy nodded. "I guess it's easier to think you're gonna do it when you're by yourself than when you know it's time to be naked in front of a stranger with a camera."

"Well, I have to say, you made it easy," Ellie told her. "Thanks." She paused and then said, "Especially because I think I might be pregnant. Not sure yet, though. I could just be bloated or fat. You won't tell anyone, will you? It'll be just between us?"

"You're welcome," Lucy grinned. "It's my pleasure. Do you still have energy to at least start on the painting, or do you want to do that tomorrow? As for your secret, I promise I won't say a word. It'll be just between you and me. It won't leave this room. I did wonder, just from looking at you with that glow you have and all."

"No, I'm good," Ellie assured her. "And thanks for keeping my news to yourself. It feels so good just to voice my suspicions to someone. As long as you're here, you might as well start on it now."

"All right," Lucy nodded. "There isn't enough room in here, though. Is there some place you feel comfortable in, but that's bigger?"

"Yeah, the library," Ellie nodded. "Let me show you where that is."

They made it there and when the door was closed behind them, Ellie looked at Lucy apologetically. "Sorry it's such a long walk," she said. "With you having to carry all your stuff. Let me get someone to help you."

"Thanks," Lucy nodded and then headed for the door to begin the trudge back to the bedroom to get her painting things. "That would be nice."

So Ellie went in search of Dexter, but found Kai first instead. "Would you help me?" She asked him. "I've got someone doing a job for me who needs to carry a bunch of stuff from my and Luci's bedroom to the library. Could you go give her a hand since I know you'd rather be doing anything than be in the kitchen?"

"Sure," Kai nodded. "Your bedroom, you said?"

"Yes," Ellie said and gave him a smile. "Thank you very much, Kai. It'll be a big help."

"You're welcome," Kai returned civilly. But he was always civil to Ellie because when she asked him to do things, at least she was polite about it.

Ellie then made a quick Lucifer's office and updated him on what was going on. "We've finished the photos," she told him. "And we're going to start the painting now."

Lucifer got up from his desk and came toward her, his eyebrow hiked up and a wide grin on his face. "You've finished the pictures, you say?" He asked, pulling her close to him. "So...do I get to see them?"

"You will eventually," Ellie nodded, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment and breathing him in. "But not now. Now you have to be patient and wait."

"You know that's not my best thing," Lucifer told her, holding her more at a distance now and heaving an exaggerated sigh. "But I suppose I can."

"Well, aren't you a good sport?" Ellie grinned and pinched his cheek. He then gave her a gentle spanking and a push toward the office door. "Don't want to keep Lucy waiting, do you?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "I'm sure she's ready by now. Don't want to keep her waiting in that library forever."

"And in the meantime," Lucifer finished, "I'll just be sitting here thinking about how I know you're not wearing anything under that bathrobe."

"All right," Ellie told him with a grin. "You do that. I'm sure I won't be gone long."

* * *

After they got the outline of the painting done, Lucy noticed that Ellie's energy was beginning to flag. "Would you like to stop for today?" She asked. "It's okay if you do. It would be no problem for me to do this picture in little bits and pieces."

"Are you sure that wouldn't get in the way of other work you're doing?" Ellie questioned. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience you."

"You really wouldn't be," Lucy promised. "It's no trouble. So...tomorrow, same time?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded, taking a breath. For some reason, she was beginning to feel inexplicably exhausted. "That would be a good idea. Thanks so much."

"You're welcome!" Lucy smiled. "And thanks for being so good to work with! After you get dressed, would you walk me out?"

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "I would love to."

* * *

"Does it feel weird to you at all that your daughter is doing paintings for Lucifer?" Dorian, who was now the second in command demon after Lucifer, asked Selina. They'd found out about it at the office that day. He'd called her in to let her know, which was surprisingly nice of him. "Do you wish you would have told her not to?"

"Well, Lucy is one of the most sensible kids I have," Selina told him. "She's not easily manipulated like I was when Lucifer and I first knew each other. It's very easy for her to focus and stick to business. He won't be able to make her do anything that she doesn't want to do." We have nothing to fear."

* * *

But clearly, she was the only one who felt that way. The next day, Selina and Dorian were eating breakfast when she got an angry call on her cell phone from Elijah.

"Can you believe that your daughter is working for the devil?" He cried. "I thought she would be all right at first, but now I can't help worrying. What if something bad happens? You know there's a part of her that's dark! What if he taps into it? What if he makes her like Roxanne? You go to Lucifer and you tell him that you won't stand for this!"

Selina rolled her eyes and took the phone away from her ear. Now she remembered why she and Elijah had gotten divorced. It had been a good move on her part. "All right," she said at last as Elijah barked into the phone, asking if she'd hung up on him. "I'll talk to Lucifer, all right? I'll make sure he doesn't corrupt her."

"Good!" Elijah snapped. "I hope so."

He was shouting so loud that even Dorian could hear him. He snatched the phone out of Selina's hand, shouted angrily into the phone on Selina's behalf, and then ended the call, slamming the phone down in the cradle.

"What a pain in the ass!" He cried, "How did you stay married to that for so long?"

"Well, he gave me a lot of stability," Selina said. "And when you look at my life, a little stability goes a long way and I'll put up with other things to keep it. Or at least I did then."

"You don't have to talk to Lucifer just because he says you should," Dorian told her. "If you trust Lucy, that should be enough, right?"

"Damn right," Selina nodded.

* * *

But despite being more confident in her choices since she and Elijah had gotten divorced, talking to him still left her weary, something that her and Dorian's son and Elijah's daughter immediately picked up on when they came back to visit later in the day.

"You've been talking to my dad, haven't you?" Lily Mikaelson asked Selina. The young demon that Elijah and Amy had adopted knew that look, even though she and her mother, who had personalities closer to Elijah's, didn't wear it as often. "What did he say? Are you all right?"

"Yeah," Selina nodded. "Thanks, Lily. But it's nothing you need to bother yourself with."

"Do I need to punch someone in the face for you?" Arthur asked, his white demon face with its holes for eyes making an appearance. "Cause if you need it, I will happily punch someone for you."

"Thanks," Selina told him and kissed him, even as the demon face looked back at her. "But if any punching needs to be done, I'll do it myself."

"All right," Arthur said in his distorted voice and shrugged. "Whatever you say."

"I know it's way past the time for me to say this," Lily told Selina as she pushed her red hair out of her eyes. "But thanks for letting us move in here when Mom said she was pregnant with Lisa. Now that Lisa's born, it just...it's so much more peaceful here."

Selina had to chuckle at that. "If you consider what's going on in this house 'peaceful', I don't want to know what your definition of crazy is," she said.

"What did Dad yell at you about?" Lily questioned. "Some little silly thing, I'll bet."

"Oh, it's just that Lucy took a painting job with Lucifer and your father is of the opinion that she'll be corrupted forever because of it and that I should have stopped her," Selina rolled her eyes.

"Seriously?" Lily's jaw dropped. "Aunt Lucy? _Really_? Sometimes I wonder if Dad just likes to find things to fight people about. Cause really, I don't know why he's worried. If you look at all the kids he's helped you raise, she is not the one I'd worry about. Aunt Laura, maybe. Aunt Annaliese, sure. Uncle Gregory on a bad day, perhaps. And some of the others could be up in the air too. But not Aunt Lucy."

"Would you let him know that?" Selina asked. "Because besides Laura and your mom, you're one of the few people he actually listens to."

"I don't even know if it's worth bothering," Arthur sighed. "No matter what we tell him, he'll think what he's gonna think. I just hope Lucy can stand it."

"She can," Selina assured him, thinking proudly of her daughter. "If anyone can stand Elijah and his weird tantrums, it's Lucy."

* * *

"I'm so glad we decided to stay in tonight instead of going out to eat," Lucifer told Ellie as they lay naked in bed together one evening soon after. "I hope you don't feel cheated? And I hope it doesn't inconvenience anyone else in the house since we told them we were leaving very clearly."

"No, that's fine," Ellie assured him, kissing his shoulder and running her fingers down his chest. "I don't mind at all."

Lucifer ran his fingers through Ellie's hair and nibbled on her earlobe. "I loved what I saw of that painting," He told her. "I know that there's just an outline of your body on the canvas now, but that's almost enough, combined with the pictures, which I just know are going to be lovely too."

"Thank you," Ellie told him. "You'll have to give me a naked painting of you too, you know. It's only fair."

She grinned and her stomach growled. "Get your robe on and let's run to the kitchen," she said. "I'm hungry. Aren't you?"

"Yeah," Lucifer nodded. "I could eat." They put robes on and headed to the kitchen where Lucifer just made himself a sandwich and then watched in awe as Ellie began cleaning out the fridge. "My goodness," he told her when she finally turned around and looked at him with food smeared all over her mouth. "When you said you were hungry, you weren't kidding, were you?"

"No, I wasn't," Ellie shook her head. "I really can't explain it. Once I start eating, I can't stop. I don't feel sick, though. That's a good thing."

"Oh, yes," Lucifer nodded. "It certainly is. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "Milk. I should probably have milk."

Finally, he was able to tear her away from the refrigerator, and they headed back to bed.

* * *

Of course, what Lucifer didn't know was that his and Ellie's staying home _had_ inconvenienced people. Although they didn't know it yet.

The second she believed her parents were gone, Valerie sneaked into Dexter's room, a bathrobe covering a tiny black bra and matching panties. "Surprise!" She whispered to a shocked Dexter who was sitting at his desk. "My parents are gone for the night, so...off with your pants!" She grinned widely and bounced on the balls of her bare feet. "Please?"

"Are you positive that they're gone?" Dexter asked. "Please tell me that you are!"

"Dexter, would I lie to you about this?" Valerie questioned, grabbing him by the waistband of his pants and walking backward until they hit a wall. "Kiss me, Dexter," she encouraged. "Please?" She undid the button and zipper on his pants and he grabbed her and kissed her, his hands running down her body as he pushed her panties down to the ground before he picked her up, her arms wrapped around his neck as he backed into the wall to balance himself while kissing her soundly as she tousled his dark hair.

After going on like this for a bit, they headed to bed and both undressed the rest of the way before he gently sucked on her nipples and buried himself inside her over and over again.

"Good," She gasped. "Good, please keep doing that! Do it all night! We have the time."

Dexter chuckled at this. "I don't know if I can do it all night without breaks, but I'll certainly try my best," he assured her with a kiss on her forehead.

"Good," Valerie nodded. "That's all I'll ever ask of you."

When they decided to take a break, Dexter finally remembered the box of chocolate covered strawberries that was in the little refrigerator in his room. He got them out and brought them to the bed. "Hungry?" He asked.

She nodded eagerly and he held one out to her, then she bit off the end. Juice dribbled down her chin and she grinned at him. For some reason, even though he was, by nature, a very tidy person, he found the animalistic quality of how she looked very endearing.

"Let me go get napkins," he suggested. "That'll save the juice from getting all over the covers."

"All right," Valerie nodded as he put on boxers and a t-shirt. "But don't keep me waiting too long!"

"I won't," he assured her, giving her a quick peck before he made his way toward the door. "I promise."

It was as he made his way to the kitchen that he ran into Lucifer, who of course didn't miss at all how he was dressed. "Is your lady friend visiting tonight because you thought we would be out? I know that's the only time she comes around."

"You're supposed to be gone!" Dexter cried, sounding more defensive than he meant to. "You can't just say that you're gonna be gone and then _not_ be gone! That's lying! It's not nice!"

"Oh, will you calm down?" Lucifer asked. "What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing," Dexter tried to control his breathing, realizing that if he continued on like this, he was going to give himself away completely, or at least make Lucifer suspicious. "Nothing at all. Just looking for some napkins is all. Do you know where some might be?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "Not off the top of my head, but I know they have to be somewhere. Sorry I can't be more help!"

It was as Dexter busied himself looking for napkins that Lucifer decided this was the perfect time to see who Dexter's lady friend was. He sneaked to his room and opened the door, making his way to the bed where a lump was under the covers. As he reached out to pull the covers back, someone popped out from under them that he _definitely_ was not expecting to see.

"Surprise!" Valerie cried, mistaking her father's footsteps for Dexter returning with the napkins. It certainly was.

Father and daughter let out a shriek at the sight of one another, and then Valerie, red as can be, tried to burrow under the covers again, but of course Lucifer stopped her. "What are you doing in Dexter's room?" He demanded. "And unclothed? Is this what you do when your mother and I leave? Whose idea was this? Yours or his?"

"Why do you care so much when Vincent has orgies every day and you don't say a damn thing about it?" Valerie asked. "Why does it suddenly matter now? Mom is okay with it. Why can't you be?"

"Because you lied to me!" Lucifer snapped. "I know you sneaked around and you _lied_ to me! Or at least weren't upfront about what you were doing! And if your mother knew and neglected to tell me...if she was complicit in this deception, she's gonna hear about it too, Dad help her!"

"Oh, shit," Dexter whispered from the doorway, the napkins dropping from his hands and fluttering in a white pile all around his feet. "This isn't good."

"It certainly is not," Lucifer snapped, his devil face popping up as the mirror above Dexter's dresser cracked down the middle. "Come here and tell me everything. And if neither of you wants a one way ticket to hell, you won't leave anything out!"


	63. If I'm Not Happy, No One Is

Now that he had gotten his feelings out, Valerie waited for her father's face to turn back to human as she clung to Dexter, but it didn't happen. He just stayed angry, not calming down one bit. As a chill ran down her spine, Valerie realized it was the first time she had ever felt frightened by her father.

But Dexter held her fast. "It's all right," he whispered. "We'll get through this!"

"Enough!" Lucifer roared, setting the headboard behind the two of them alight. "Remember what I asked you. Stop stalling!"

"What do you want us to say?" Valerie shouted back, her own face turning to match her father's as Dexter's warm grasp gave her courage. "I love Dexter, okay? And the reason why we didn't tell you what we were doing is because we knew you'd freak out like this!"

"And why wouldn't I?" Lucifer responded. "He _works_ for me! That's his lot! He's not supposed to be sneaking around with _you,_ young lady!"

"Make up your mind!" Dexter cried. "Do you want me to have a life or not? You were all about that until now."

"Of course you can have a life!" Lucifer told him. "Just not with my daughter!"

Then the door opened and Ellie said, "What in the world is going on in here with all the shouting and stuff! I can hear you all the way from our room..." She trailed off when she realized what she was seeing. "Oh," she got out, but didn't run away, locking eyes with her husband. "So you know now. And I see...I see you're not happy about it."

"Of course I'm not bloody happy about it!" Lucifer said, finally calming down enough that Ellie saw his human face. "And Valerie said not only have you known about this for ages, you're okay with it! You encouraged it! Did anyone think I should know? Why am I the only one who thinks this is wrong? And we'll not start on how you're encouraging Vincent and Lauren to be together because that's a whole other thing that I just don't want to deal with right now.

"Because this is not really _wrong_ ," Ellie said, gesturing at Dexter and Valerie. "At least not by your standards. How is this any more wrong than you aging me up from a toddler just to be with me? To get me into your bed? You remember that you did that?" She crossed her arms and waited for his response, her lips a thin line and her eyes narrowed.

"Yes, I remember I did that," Lucifer got out, speaking through gritted teeth, his voice full of quiet fury. "But that...that was _different_!"

"Was it?" Ellie asked. "Why? Cause it was your idea and it benefited you, and this situation has no benefit to you whatsoever?"

Lucifer opened his mouth several times, but was unable to come up with a suitable response that would actually help him win the argument, so he threw his hands up and said, "I'm done with this conversation!" He headed to the door and then turned to face Dexter and Valerie. "But I'm not done with the two of you," he clarified. "I still have much to say about this." He then opened the door and left with Ellie running after him.

"Oh, no!" She said and grabbed his shirt in an attempt to slow him down, even though that failed. "I'm not done talking to you! Don't you run away from me!"

He stopped and patiently moved her hand. "Don't pull on my shirt," he told her. "You'll just stretch it out and it's new!" Then he kept walking and Ellie followed and kept talking. She just would not shut up! It was really annoying! He had every right to be angry, Why couldn't she just accept that and leave him alone? Or at least offer to soothe his pain by going to bed with him? That's what a decent person would do.

* * *

As they reached the bedroom, Ellie and Lucifer continued to fight with each other.

"Just stop!" Ellie spat at him as she gripped the doorknob. "Stop yelling! It's not doing you any good. I don't even know what you've even got to be mad about!"

"How could you not know?" Lucifer asked, gripping Ellie's shoulders. "You lied to me! I assume you would be horrified if I lied to you about something so important, so I don't see why I can't be mad at you for the same thing!"

"Cause I didn't _lie_!" Ellie shook her head, her hair flying in her face. "I just withheld information! That's different!"

"No, it's not!" Lucifer shouted. "I can't express to you how hurt and frustrated I feel right now!"

"Okay, so you're mad!" Ellie told him. "Okay! But I don't see what yelling at Dexter will solve. What did he do wrong? And he's the best man we could have wished for for Valerie. It would be totally justifiable for you to be angry if she was dating a murderer or someone who was just gonna string her along or something, but you know Dexter's a good man! Give him a break! Give them _both_ a break!"

"He's a traitor!" Lucifer replied. "That's what he did wrong! He's supposed to be working for _me_!" As he said that, Ellie realized that he had a hurt look in his eyes and she put a hand on his face.

"You're upset because your friend is paying attention to Valerie and not you!" She surmised. "You're afraid of being abandoned!"

"No, I'm not!" Lucifer snapped and moved her hand. "I feel no such thing!" Then he stomped off.

"Where are you going?" Ellie cried.

"None of your business!" Lucifer called back. He stomped back to Dexter's room. Dexter and Valerie were both dressed now, standing on opposite sides of the room and waiting to hear their fate. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pretty, even if they _weren't_ going straight to Hell.

"Okay," She got out when she saw him. She wouldn't be intimidated. She wouldn't be scared. "What's the punishment? Straight to Hell with me? Am I gonna be burning up with the rest of the lustful?"

" _You_ be quiet!" Lucifer snapped. "You'll speak only when you're spoken to, and I don't think I've asked your opinion about anything, have I?"

"Don't talk to her that way!" Dexter defended Valerie. "None of this was her fault. It was all me! So if either of us should be punished, you should lay it all on me and leave her out of it!"

"It's nice to see you're defending her, but we both know that's not true," Lucifer told him, getting right in his face and grabbing him by the collar. "We both know who started this."

"What are you going to do to her?" Dexter got out. "You better not hurt her!"

"Oh, I won't," Lucifer replied, stepping away from Dexter and heading toward Valerie. He began stroking her hair, but it definitely didn't feel like a nice, comforting gesture from a father to a daughter. "I would never physically harm my own child. But I'll definitely do something to make sure nothing like this will ever happen again."

"What _will_ you do?" Dexter asked, knowing better than to just trust his promise not to hurt Valerie. Usually he could be counted on to be honest, but when he was angry like this, it was anyone's guess what would happen.

"I don't have to tell you," Lucifer told him and grabbed him by his shirt, dragging him from the room as Valerie let out a cry like a wounded animal and ran after them. "Because you're not going to be here anymore. I want you out of my house, and don't even _think_ about coming back!"

"No, Daddy!" Valerie shouted. "Let him go! If you don't send him away, I promise I won't see him anymore and you can have him all to yourself! I _swear!_ "

The tone of her voice, the sound of desperation and the fact that she was near tears, gave him pause for just a little while. He looked at her with Dexter's shirt still clutched in his hand and saw that she was trying hard not to cry. "I'm sorry," he said in a gentle voice. "This is what's best for all of us. I know it hurts now, but some day, when you're older and wiser, you'll understand." He then tossed Dexter out the open door, locked it behind him, then ordered a sobbing Valerie to go to her room and think about what she'd done.

* * *

Sometime later, there was a knock on Lucifer and Ellie's bedroom door. At first, Ellie didn't want to get it because she thought it was her husband and after the way he'd spoken to her, she wasn't in the mood to talk to him just yet. Punch him in the face, yes. Talk to him, no.

But the knocking became more insistent until she finally stomped over to the door and yelled. "Lucifer, I'm not letting you in here so you can just give up!"

But she heard another voice on the other side of the door. "Mom, it's me! Dad's done something terrible!" Valerie sounded like she was sobbing and Ellie had to get her to repeat it twice before she finally understood the words and let her daughter in, ushering her to the bed, where she held her until she calmed down.

"He sent Dexter away!" She sniffled. "He's _gone_ now, and he's not coming back!"

"We'll find a way to get this worked out," Ellie promised. "I swear. Your dad won't get away with it!"

Then there was another knock on the door. Knowing who it was, she opened it just long enough for Lucifer to get close and then slammed it in his face so that his nose broke.

"Damn it, Eleanor," he yelled, his voice full of pain. "What did you do that for?"

"I'm ashamed of how you're treating your children!" She yelled, then decided to really hurt him. "And because of that, you're not having anything to do with the one I'm carrying now!"

"What did you just say?" Lucifer asked. "Did you just say that you're pregnant? What is it this time? One baby? Two? Three?"

"I'm not sure!" Ellie replied. "The dream I had where your dad told me I was wasn't very specific! It said I will soon be pregnant, and the symptoms I have now are similar to what I had before, but not as bad. But based on how you've been acting, what the hell does it matter to you anyway?"

"It matters because-" Lucifer began, but then paused. "Wait. My father contacted you? When?"

"Not long ago," Ellie told him. "I didn't say anything earlier because I thought it would upset you, but now that you're already upset, I thought I might as well say something!"

"Open the door, Eleanor!" Lucifer demanded. "We have to talk about this! You can't just tell me that you're pregnant and that my father told you about it in a dream and then expect me not to press you for more information! Especially when I'm finally happy after what Valerie's done!"

"I've told you all there is to tell you," Ellie snapped. "I can't tell you any more!"

"Mom, focus!" Valerie whispered.

"Oh, sorry," Ellie flushed. "And speaking of Valerie, that's what I want to talk about! Did you really throw Dexter out of the house? I'm not happy about that, Lucifer. I know you think it's bad that Valerie and Dexter sneaked around, and maybe you have a small point. But you handled it badly too. There were better ways to get your message across to your daughter than depriving her of a relationship that made her so loved and happy. Therefore, until you and she have a discussion and you admit you were wrong in how you acted, you get Dexter back here, and you tell both of them it's okay for them to have a relationship and that you won't interfere anymore, you and I won't be sleeping together."

"You can't be serious, Eleanor!" Lucifer howled and pounded on the door while Valerie giggled silently from the bed. "This is torture! _Torture!_ You're hurting yourself as well as me! I know this won't last very long!"

"Oh, it will!" Ellie promised. "With how I feel right now, you have no idea how long I can hold out!" She then opened the door, grabbed him, and gave him a long kiss before pushing him away. "There," she said. "That ought to hold you. And honestly, it shouldn't take you long to get what you want, should it? The conditions I set aren't that hard to meet if you're a reasonable person."

There was no response as they heard Lucifer stomp away from the door.

"Thanks...thanks for standing up for me," Valerie told her mother. "But you really don't have to stop having sex with Dad if you don't want to. I know it's a lot to give up."

"Oh, no, honey," Ellie assured her. "It's no trouble at all. I can wait. I'm patient. It's not a problem. With the way he treated you, he deserves to have some lonely nights, and with that pride of his, it's his own fault if our celibacy stretches out more than it needs to. You don't think I'm being unreasonable, do you?"

"No," Valerie shook her head and spoke resolutely. "Not one bit!" She paused. "Do you really think he's gonna get Dexter back?"

"I think he will," Ellie nodded. "It might take time, but he will. I think one of the reasons why the idea of you and Dexter bugged him was that he always relied on Dexter for some sort of emotional support and he felt that with Dexter shifting his attention to you, he would lose that security. And he's not just gonna let him go forever. Once he gets over himself, he'll definitely bring Dexter back. Who else would support your dad in Dexter's place?"

* * *

That was exactly the question that Lucifer was attempting to answer when he found Kai in the kitchen, stealing whipped cream off the top of a pie, then putting some back on before someone noticed.

"Well, look at you," he remarked, making Kai start badly.

"What?" Kai turned around. "I didn't do anything!"

"I know you did and I'm beginning to think you would have been better served to be with the gluttons, but never mind that," Lucifer shook his head. "How would you like a promotion of sorts?"

Kai's eyes narrowed. "What sort of promotion? What does that mean? You're going to send me to Hell and torture me worse?"

"No, no!" Lucifer shook his head. "Dexter had to...leave, so I was thinking that until we get all that sorted out, you could do what he did. Sounds good, doesn't it? Much easier than what you're doing now."

"So my choices are either to babysit you, or go to Hell with the gluttons?" Kai questioned. "Can I take door number two, please?"

"No, you can't," Lucifer shook his head, grabbing a very reluctant Kai's arm and dragging him off to Dexter's vacant room. "I have lots to talk about regarding why Dexter had to leave, so I can't afford to send you away right now."

"Wait a minute, stop!" Kai protested, trying to pull away. "Can't I at least be drunk or something first?"

"No!" Lucifer snapped. "Then it wouldn't be much of a punishment for you, now would it?"


	64. Sticking To Your Guns

Although Dexter had been booted from Lucifer's house, luckily, he and Valerie still had each other's phone numbers and called each other at night. Valerie was incredibly relieved when he told her that he was all right and living in a hotel nearby for the time being until he found an aparment.

"Why did you actually leave?" Valerie questioned. "You don't have to do what Dad says! You could have fought him! Was it because you don't care about me?"

"No!" Dexter was quick to assure her. "It's because i do that I just left. Letting your father have his way for a bit and then giving him time to calm down and let your mother change his mind instead of fighting him is the best way to have a long-term solution that will satisfy everyone."

"But you _are_ mad about him kicking you out after all the years of loyal service you've given him?" Valerie questioned. "You have to be. Come on."

"Part of me _is_ a bit put out, yes," Dexter admitted. "But at the same time, it's _freedom_ , Valerie! We can be together and not have to sneak around anymore! I don't work for your dad so you can come visit me! Even spend the weekend! How is that not a bad thing? It's not, is it?"

"No," Valerie assured him. "I agree with you completely where that's concerned. But I just...I don't want it to cause trouble with Dad, you know? And it just might. You're in your own place now, but I still have to live with him."

"It's because he's still in shock, I think," Dexter told her. "And in a way, I don't blame him because of the way he found out. If your mother, you, and I had sat him down and talked to him about it, he might have handled it better."

"So now Dad's bad behavior is _our_ fault?" Valerie scoffed. "You can't be serious, Dexter!"

"I'm not," Dexter told her. "Not entirely. But don't you agree that if we'd at least warned him, he would have been less likely to throw a tantrum?"

"Yeah," Valerie sighed. "I guess. How are we gonna work our way out of this? It can't last forever."

"It won't," Dexter assured her. "Your mom and I will talk to your dad. Things will work out, I promise. You need to go to sleep now, don't you?" He eyed the clock on his bedside table. "It's getting late."

Valerie didn't want to hang up, but she couldn't hide her yawn. "I'm not tired," she said. "Keep talking to me. I like hearing your voice."

"Go to sleep and we'll talk tomorrow," Dexter assured her, not fooled at all. "I promise."

"All right," Valerie said at last. "Good night, Dexter. I love you."

"I love you too," Dexter told her without hesitation. "Goodnight, Valerie. Sweet dreams."

* * *

She slept well until she was suddenly roused by her mother around three in the morning. "What's wrong?" She muttered. "Mom, are you okay?" They'd talked about it and since her mother was in solidarity with her about Dexter and thus was not relying on her dad for help, she would do what she could in his place if her mother needed something. "What do you need?"

"Sorry for waking you," Ellie apologized. "I just...I couldn't sleep. And I'm not gonna go see your dad, of course, even though that would help immensely. Would you mind if I took your spare bed?"

"Sure," Valerie nodded. "No problem."

"Thank you," Ellie told her. "I thought about sharing a room with your brother first because his room is closer, but when I opened the door, he and Lauren were busy, so I didn't want to interrupt."

"Yeah, Dad probably won't react well to that news either," Valerie sighed. "Better get that out in the open."

"No, I think your dad is fine with that," Ellie replied as she tucked herself in. "But anything more serious like them getting married or her becoming a vampire is gonna require a heads-up. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. We might not even have to cross it at all, so there's no use worrying about it now."

"Right," Valerie nodded. "No use worrying about it now. Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight," Ellie told her. "And for what it's worth, I'm really happy about you and Dexter. You made a good choice, sweetie. No matter what your dad says."

"Yeah," Valerie nodded and gave her mom a smile. "I think so too."

* * *

Despite the fact that she was currently keeping him at a distance, Ellie still went to work with Lucifer every day and did what he needed her to do for him (this time without the making out during lunch hour, of course) cause she knew that if she refused to do it, things would just fall apart.

But it took every ounce of self-control she had because he'd started to get sneaky and wear very tight pants to work, which was a mean trick. When Maeve called her in the break room as she ate her heated up macaroni and cheese and drank from her blood bag, she thought that she would never be so happy to hear another voice again.

"The boss drunk dialed me last night about you and he having a fight," Maeve informed her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ellie assured her. "Thanks for asking. Lucifer just found out about Valerie and Dexter and he kicked Dexter out so I told him that I wouldn't sleep with him again until the twof them patched things up, including Lucifer saying he was okay with Dexter and Valerie's relationship."

"Wow, that's bold of you," Maeve replied. "Do you know how long that will take? Will you be able to hold out long enough?"

"I'm trying, but he's being very sneaky!" Ellie told her. "Any ideas?"

"Well, I'm thinking of holding off your dad with not showering or shaving," Maeve told her. "That might work with Lucifer too."

"Good," Ellie said. "Having company might help me stay motivated and not give in."

"That's what I'm here for," Maeve told her. "I've got your back."

"Good," Ellie remarked as Lucifer came into the room, turned his back to her, and began pouring himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the counter. It was that view of his butt again. He knew she liked it and he was taking full advantage of the fact.

"You still there?" Maeve asked after several seconds of silence.

"Oh, sorry," Ellie told her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just got a little distracted."

"Boss came in, didn't he?" Maeve asked knowingly. "Did he really kick Dexter out? Honestly, I thought I would be out of his good graces before Dexter was."

"Yeah, well, things happen," Ellie replied. "What can you do?" She noticed Lucifer was watching her. "Some people are just so stubborn they can't even see what's good for their daughters and is right in front of their faces!"

That got Lucifer's attention. "Who are you talking to?" He asked, reaching out as he got close to her. "Give me the phone!"

"No!" Ellie shook her head and took the phone away from her ear. "It's bad enough that you think you can control Valerie's life when she's done nothing wrong. You're _not_ doing it with me too!"

"Give him the phone!" Maeve cried. "I'll set him straight!"

So Ellie did and Lucifer was surprised to hear her laying into him because of all this.

"Will you just give her a break?" She asked. "Why are you being so tough on her?"

"Cause she was keeping this whole Valerie/Dexter business from me!" Lucifer replied. "And that's bad! I don't like being lied to!"

"You're an idiot if you're gonna throw away one of the short list of people who tolerates and even appreciates your crazy just because of one little mistake!" Maeve said. "Remember that she forgave you for doing a lot worse! Not saying you have to forgive Dexter or Valerie now because knowing you, that will be more of a process, but at least give Eleanor a break unless you want to be alone and miserable for the rest of time. You know that if anyone else acted the way you're acting, they would go straight to the pride circle of Hell."

"Yes, yes," Lucifer sighed. "I suppose they would."

"Now tell her you're sorry," Maeve urged. "Hang up, go on, and do it."

"Okay," Lucifer sighed. "I will. Goodbye, Maeve."

"Bye, you idiot," Maeve told him and ended the call.

Then Lucifer put the phone down and looked at Ellie, but she didn't look back, continuing to keep her eyes on her food. "How can you eat that?" He asked. "It looks dreadful. You should have come out to lunch with _me_ instead."

"No, thanks," Ellie told him. "I had work to do that I wanted to get done early so I could go home and rest in the afternoon." She looked up then. "If that's all right with you. I wouldn't want to be caught lying down on the job."

"Oh, no, of course you can rest!" Lucifer told her. "I'll set up the couch in my office. It's very comfortable." He reached out to touch her arm, but she stepped away from him.

"No, thanks," Ellie shook her head. "I'd rest much easier at home."

"All right, then," Lucifer sighed. "If that's how you feel." There was a silence and as Ellie reached the door, he finally got out, "I'm sorry for my behavior toward Dexter and Valerie and you. I know it was was wrong and I should have held my temper left room for discussion first. As for what I said to you...I would like to be included in things that like this that go on in my own house, even if you know I'm going to react badly. However, I suppose I can understand why you acted the way you did this first time, and I...I forgive you for it."

"Oh, how generous of you," Ellie spat. "I know you don't mean it and you're just saying it because Maeve told you to and you want me to be nice to you again. But it's gonna take more than that. _Much_ more."

Then she slammed the door and headed out to the parking lot, leaving Lucifer to throw away the rest of her lunch and put the blood bag back in the cooler.

* * *

"Oh, for crying-" Ellie yelled when she woke up to find Lucifer spraying a cloud of Chanel no. 5 in her face and then carrying her to the shower one morning, not long after she'd begun the experiment she and Maeve were doing. "What are you doing? My eyes are burning!"

"Yes, but you smell lovely," Lucifer told her and plunked her down in the shower stall before spraying her with the detachable shower head. "Well, better than you did before, anyway."

"Well, if it's keeping you away from me, then it's doing its job," Ellie said. "Are you cleaning me off to get me into your bed again?"

"I'm cleaning you off so you don't make a fool of yourself at the office," Lucifer told her firmly. "I don't want people to smell you from a mile away." He handed her shampoo. "But don't worry, I won't put my hands on your highness. You can wash your hair yourself. But you know, Junior's not as picky about all this, so I bet Maeve is having more trouble fending him off than you are me." But he was grinning, leaving Ellie to wonder if he was really mad at all.

She glared at him as he watched her wash her hair, and then when it was all clean, he got closer, his hands sliding over her belly. "How's our baby doing today?" He asked and kissed it. "Good?"

"Yes, fine," Ellie nodded. "I haven't taken the official test yet, but I definitely don't think it's bloating anymore."

"As for the other thing that you said," Lucifer continued. "Did my father really visit you and say something? Or did you just tell me that to work me up?"

"Honestly, I thought he did," Ellie told him. "But then again, you would have a better idea about what your father visiting people is like. Does he do it often?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "Not really. So...what did he say? Just that you're pregnant?"

"Yeah, and that it would be easier than last time and it sure as heck is!" Ellie nodded. "Of course, _anything_ would be easier than last time. And I think we're just having one, but I can make an appointment to see for sure. I think I'll do that."

"And...can I come?" Lucifer asked. "Please?"

"I won't make the appointment until you and Dexter make some plan to talk," Ellie told him. "I told you that once the two of you made things up, I would I would end what I'm doing and I mean it."

"But what if he won't talk to me?" Lucifer asked. "What if it doesn't work?"

"Well, I wouldn't blame him if it didn't," Ellie replied. "But I'm sure, even if it's just for Valerie's sake, he'll take the olive branch when you offer it."

"Good," Lucifer nodded. "Cause I have stuff I need to talk about and Kai is just no good at listening."

"I would have told you that if you would have asked me," Ellie said. "And saved you a lot of trouble." She turned on the shower head again and began washing off her body. "I can do the rest of this myself if you need to get to work now," she told him.

"No, I can wait," Lucifer assured her, not taking his eyes off her. "I'll go when you're done. And remember, tidy up everything."

"Fine," Ellie sighed.

But in the end, she didn't end up shaving her legs. Since she was wearing long pants and a roomy top though, Lucifer didn't notice, which meant Maeve wouldn't be _totally_ disappointed in her for breaking their deal.

* * *

But just as Lucifer had surmised, Maeve was having a much harder time sticking to the plan than Ellie was, especially since Junior was doing exactly the same thing, not put off by her lack of bathing or anything at all. In fact, he admitted, he liked the freedom of not having to dress in his own house.

"You realize this totally defeats the whole purpose of this plan!" Maeve grouched, feeling full of shame as Junior rolled off her once again. "This isn't how this was supposed to go."

"Oh, I know that," Junior grinned. "Don't you think I know that. Why do you think I'm acting this way?" He paused and grinned, his hands sliding over Maeve's stomach. "I really don't think you're as invested in this whole plan as you say. Otherwise you wouldn't have let me convince you to come to bed in the first place. Cause you can always say 'No'. No one is forcing you to do anything." He paused. "Will you just admit this arrangement is going a lot better than you thought it would? There's no shame in enjoying yourself."

Maeve's mouth opened and closed several times because she wasn't sure how to respond to that. She knew he was right, but she didn't want to tell _him_ that. "You know what?" She said at last, giving him a shove so that he slid off the bed and landed on the floor. "Shut up, okay? Don't you say another word."

"You _like_ me!" Junior crowed in annoying sing-song voice as he popped up from the other side of the bed, completely unperturbed. "You really do and you just don't want to admit it!"

"And why do you care so much about my admitting it?" Maeve snapped. "If it's just to show that you won. I'm not doing it!"

Junior smirked at this as he climbed up beside her again, pushed some of her dark hair off her shoulder and kissed the soft and rosy light brown skin there, just the lightest touch of his lips. "There would be some fleeting satisfaction in hearing I was right," he admitted. "But I just...I think you deserve to be happy and enjoy something for once. Don't you? That's really why I want you to admit you like being here and with me."

"Oh, but I've never really enjoyed anything," Maeve remarked. "I don't even really know what that means."

"I've kind of thought that," Junior told her. "Which is why I've been trying to help you all this time, but you're so stubborn that you haven't noticed!" He then grabbed her and kissed her, one of his hands combing through her dark hair.

Maeve kissed him back, wondering if just maybe he was right. Why _couldn't_ she enjoy herself? She knew that realizing she could was just a first step, and that actually following through with it in the long term would be a lot harder, but it was a start, anyway.

* * *

Later, when Junior was asleep, Maeve put on one of his shirts and sneaked out of the room to talk to Ellie. "I confess," she said. "I've failed. I broke the pact. But who the hell knew your dad would still be turned on by me when I'm a complete mess?"

"Oh, it's all right," Ellie sighed. "I don't blame you. I'm not mad."

"I should hope not, because I know this whole thing with me and your dad is a bit of a sore point and I wouldn't want it to ruin things when I think...I think I've got another friend." Maeve said this last part hesitantly. "Am I right?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "Thanks for sticking up for me about this whole thing with Lucifer. I know that's a bit of a risk for you because what could happen to Dexter could also happen to you if Lucifer's in the right mood."

"No, it couldn't," Maeve assured her. "I don't have the same emotional ties to your dad that Dexter does. Dexter is warm, fuzzy support while I'm tough love. And it's easier to feel betrayed by your warm and fuzzy support. I'm not going anywhere, no matter what I do."

"Thanks," Ellie told her. "That's...that's good to know."

"And what about you?" Maeve questioned. "This fight gonna make you leave?"

"No," Ellie assured her. "I'm staying right where I am...just in a different bedroom, temporarily."

"Good," Maeve said. "I'm glad to hear that. Cause you're the best thing that's happened to him in a while, and I'd hate to see you go."

"Really?" Ellie asked in amazement. "That's nice of you to say."

"I'm not just saying it," Maeve told her. "I really mean it. Believe me."

"I do," Ellie assured her. "I promise I do."


	65. A Lovely Night

"That's it!" Kai cried, striding into Ellie's room one night and insisting she get out of bed and come with him. "I've had enough of your husband's complaining! I can't take it anymore! Go have sex with him so I can be in the kitchen where I belong! I didn't think that would be preferable to anything, but he proved me wrong!"

"But I _can't_ sleep with him!" Ellie protested. "I'm mad at him and that would just be rewarding bad behavior."

"Oh, that's bullshit!" Kai cried irritably then opened the bedroom door and gently began herding Ellie out into the hallway and toward their bedroom where Lucifer was. "You want to sleep with him. You do. Don't even try to hide it."

They paused outside of the bedroom door, then Lucifer opened it and grinned at Kai, pulling Ellie inside. "Thank you," he told him. "Back to the kitchen with you." Then, once the door was closed, Lucifer gave Ellie a kiss as she opened her mouth to protest, his hands cupping her bottom while he pulled her as close as he could.

"What-" Ellie got out before she kissed him. "What are you doing?"

"Kissing you," Lucifer replied. "Would you like me to move my lips somewhere else?" He nibbled on her ear as he stood behind her. "Like here?" Then he moved to her neck. "Here?" He moved her shirt off her shoulder. "Or what about here?"

"Oh, dear," Ellie breathed, trying to keep her composure. "Oh, goodness."

"I miss you when you're not here with me," he whispered in here ear. "Have you miss me too?"

"Yes!" Ellie cried and pulled away, turning to face him. "Yes, I missed you, damn it! Damn you!" She glared at him, her nostrils flaring and her breathing picking up before she grabbed his face and kissed him hard. "Damn you," she whispered again, looking him right in the eye.

"You can say that all you want," he whispered back with a smirk. "You know it isn't going to do any good."

"You're right," Ellie admitted. "But it feels better for me to say it."

Lucifer braced her against the wall and pushed up her long t-shirt and slipped his fingers into her panties, giving her a good hard rub as she leaned on him, her eyes closed and her chin resting on his shoulder. "More!" She breathed. "Rub me harder!" She then grabbed his face and kissed him, a lingering kiss as she ran her fingers through his dark hair. After she climaxed, they looked into each other's eyes.

"Had enough," he whispered, one eyebrow arched.

"No," Ellie shook her head. "I'm just getting started." Then she took off her night shirt without hesitation, grabbed him by the belt, and led him to bed, undoing the belt quickly, then grinning as his pants fell to his ankles.

"You wanna take off your boxers _and_ my panties?" She whispered. "Or do you want me to do you?"

"I'll take whatever you want," he whispered and gave her a gentle spank as she pulled his boxers down and kicked them aside, then followed her into bed, pulling the black satin sheets over them both. Ellie lay on her back and looked up at him with light in her eyes as he slipped off her black lace panties and threw them by the bed, and then kissed her. "How do you want to do this?" He asked. "Is this comfortable?"

"I don't know, let's see," Ellie replied. But it didn't take long for her to realize that they needed to switch it up a bit. She rolled over on her side and Lucifer entered her from behind, kissing her neck and shoulder as she rubbed herself.

When they were done, he gave her a back and shoulder rub and then finally let her lay back down on the mattress. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" He asked with a grin.

"Well, no, it was great and I feel so good now, but...what am I going to tell Valerie? I promised her I would hold off until you worked things out with Dexter!" Ellie exclaimed. "I broke my promise!"

"Oh, don't tell her anything!" Lucifer replied. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her, and besides, what child wants details of their parents' sex life anyway?"

"That's a good point," Ellie replied. "A very good point."

"You'll still be thinking about it though, won't you?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "Would you get some warm milk to help me sleep?"

"Of course," he said and kissed her cheek.

"Don't forget to put on your robe before you leave this room, though!" She called, and hoped he heard her before the bedroom door closed.

* * *

Elsewhere in the mansion, Lauren's eyes also popped open. The room was silent, and it seemed that she was alone as usual. Her breathing was heavy and her heart was pounding. It had been a terrible dream she'd had, even if she couldn't remember it now. She decided to go the bathroom to get a glass of water, but when she turned, she started a little. Vincent was in bed with her. She wasn't scared, though. The light from his phone illuminated his smiling face and he held it up so she could see the words **Sorry I scared you.**

He then went to turn the lights and then when he came back to sit with her, she put her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder for a while before she wrote a message on his phone, **I'm glad you came. I had a bad dream. Will you stay with me?**

 **Sure** , Vincent wrote back before giving her a kiss and brushing out her hair as her breathing slowed down. **Good thing I came to check on you. For some reason, you being alone too long in this house worries me.**

 **You're very sweet** , Lauren wrote and kissed both his cheeks and his lips. **I can take care of myself, but I like it when you take care of me.**

Vincent smiled at this and pulled Lauren close for a long time, kissing her neck and smelling her hair before he got a look at the time on the clock and set her down. **I should go now that I know you're okay. You need to get your sleep** , he wrote, then hopped off the bed before she even responded.

"No!" She shouted, making him pause with his hand on the doorknob. "Come back!" She grinned as Vincent stepped away from the door and got to the bed in two steps, grabbing her again, then kissing her furiously. They made out for several minutes, but when he reached under her t-shirt to slip her panties off, she put a restraining hand on his arm and shook her head. **Not now** ,she wrote. **I'm too sleepy. I want to be alert when we do that.** She yawned to prove her point and Vincent gave her one last kiss before getting out of the bed, tucking her in, and writing her one last **good night.**

* * *

After he'd done thorough check of her room for anything dangerous and made sure Lauren was asleep, Vincent left her bedroom to journey back to his through the dark hallways. As he walked, he bumped into Valerie, who cried out, "Ow! Damn it, watch where you're going!"

Not thinking, he blurted out, "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!" Then he put a hand over his mouth as his sister turned the hallway light on and stared at him with her hands on her hips. "So how long have you been able to hear? How did that happen?"

"I don't know precisely," Vincent shrugged. "It's a miracle. Maybe Grandpa helped. But please don't tell Lauren. If she knows, I might lose her. I probably will. I know I probably don't deserve this favor, but...Lauren means a lot to me. Don't mess this up."

"Oh, all right," Valerie said after a long pause. "It sucked for me to lose Dexter and I don't want _both_ of us to be miserable. I won't say a word, I swear." She held out a hand to her brother, and he shook it.

"Thanks," he whispered back. "I really appreciate it and I'm so sorry about what happened with Dexter. That was really lousy of Dad to kick him out."

"Thanks," Valerie told him. "But as he pointed out when we talked before, him having his own place would mean we could have more freedom cause we wouldn't have to worry about Dad bursting in unannounced and interrupting us. Personally, I feel like him living somewhere else will be good for both of them."

"Do you think Dexter will come back to work for Dad if Dad asks nicely?" Vincent questioned. "Or do you think Dexter's just done with him?"

"Oh, of course he's not done with him," Valerie replied. "He gets that how Dad found out about us was a shock and if you look at it that way, he doesn't blame Dad for being upset. And he knows that Dad needs a lot of attention and he wouldn't make Mom shoulder it all by herself, so I'm sure he can be talked into coming back if Dad can be talked into apologizing."

"And that will be the tough part," Vincent gave his sister a rueful look.

"Oh, I'm not worried," Valerie grinned. "Between Mom and me, I think we can convince him."

"Well, good luck," Vincent told her and yawned. "I'm going to bed now. You can go back to lurking in the dark or whatever the hell it was you were doing when you bumped into me."

"I was just going back to my room from the bathroom," Valerie replied. "I didn't want to wake Mom by using the one in my room."

They told each other good night one last time and Valerie went back to her bed, not realizing that her mother was gone and she was sleeping alone.

* * *

The next morning, Christopher was awakened by a phone call from Hannah. "You're lucky I'm talking to you at all," he got out. "What do you want?"

"I just...I want to bury the hatchet," Hannah told him. "Apologize for all the trouble I've caused. And I thought that if I called and then came by early, I could do what I wanted to do and I wouldn't have to worry about throwing off any plans you might have with...Alice."

"That's very thoughtful," Christopher replied. He was genuinely shocked by her thoughtfulness. "Sure, you can come over, as long as you don't stay for very long. Let me get dressed first, though."

"Oh, whatever," Hannah told him and then he let out a yelp and dropped the phone as she zapped herself into his room and pushed him to sit on his bed. "You don't have to change." She looked over his shirtless body and then ran her fingers through his hair before pulling some violets from behind her back. "I like that look just fine. And here's some flowers," she dropped them in his lap before sitting next to him and giving him a smile before putting her hand on his. "I thought they might brighten up your room."

"Well, thanks," Christopher got out. He hadn't been expecting flowers, but he had to admit she was right: they looked good on his bedside table. He sat back down beside her and they lapsed into awkward silence before he took her hand and said, "You told me you wanted to come here and apologize for something?"

"Yeah," Hannah nodded. "I wanted to apologize for all the trouble I've caused you. For how mean I've been. I'm sorry. I was childish, selfish, and spiteful, and I'm sorry."

"Well, I'm sorry that I turned you down when you asked me out for that burger," Christopher told her. "That was mean of me to turn you down when it obviously took a lot out of you to get the invitation out."

"No, I deserved to be turned down for that," Hannah admitted. "But that's the last time I actually deserve to be turned down. If I ask again, I at least deserve to have the invitation be considered." She nudged him. "Don't I? Or don't you want to go out with me because of Alice?"

"Alice and I aren't joined at the hip," Christopher assured her. "We're just friends. So if you want to have a burger or something like you wanted before, we can do it. But not today when Alice and I have already made plans. I don't want to ditch her. But I'm open tomorrow." He paused. "Or you can come down and join the family for breakfast if you're hungry. I'm sure your sister will be glad to see you."

"If that wouldn't bother you, I would like that a lot," Hannah told him and put her hand in his. "Thanks for suggesting it."

"You're welcome," Christopher told her.

They made their way down to the breakfast table. They were the first ones up, other than Ellie, who was casting longing glances at the coffee machine.

"Morning!" Hannah grinned and hugged her sister. "Want me to get you a cup?"

"No, thanks," Ellie replied. "Pregnant. Can't have caffeine."

"You're pregnant?" Hannah asked. "When were you going to mention _that_ to Mom and Dad?"

"Could you tell them?" Ellie asked. "Or at least be the one to ease them into it before I do? I don't think I can handle more disappointment from Dad."

"Oh, I'm sure he won't be so disappointed," Hannah assured her. "He's made peace with what you've chosen to do with your life. Or who you've chosen to do."

"Yeah, I know," Ellie sighed. "But I still hate to disappoint him."

"I'll give him the heads-up before you tell him," Hannah promised. "Don't worry about it."

They then talked until Lucifer and the twins came in. Then omelets were made for breakfast and Hannah, Christopher, and the twins watched TV until Alice came to pick Christopher up for the fun they had planned for the day, then Hannah excused herself, using every ounce of control she had to be civil to the other girl as she made her way out and not trip her and make her fall flat on her face. She wasn't going to give in to the flash of jealousy that she felt. Not when she and Christopher were finally getting along so well now.


	66. You Can't Fool Me

After a day with Alice, no matter how pleasant she was, Christopher was ready for a little more excitement at night, so once they got home and he sent Alice on her way, he showered, dressed, made himself a sandwich, and then told Ellie he was going to the Underground.

"Doesn't surrpise me," Ellie grinned. "What did you and Alice do today?"

Christopher shrugged. "We went to an art museum to look at stuff," he said. "Don't get me wrong; I like art and all. I didn't hate it. But I need some stimulation."

"Hey, I'm not criticizing," Ellie told him. "I promise. Go and have fun."

"You think Vincent will want to come with me?" Christopher asked.

"I don't know," Ellie shrugged. "I think he's with Lauren though, so you don't need to wait for him. Go ahead and go have fun."

"All right," Christopher sighed.

He left and got in his car to go to the Underground and when he got there, he sat at a table by himself and ordered a drink. He'd only taken a few sips though before someone at the next table knocked into him and the glass was tipped over. He turned to shout angrily and saw two people kissing behind them. After watching for a bit longer, (but not because he was a pervert, he told himself) he realized that one of the people was Hannah.

Once he realized this, he felt jealousy pooling in his belly. Jealousy? Why? Because Hannah was kissig another guy? He paused and shook his head, trying to snap himself out of it. She could make out with whoever she wanted it. It didn't matter.

Then, as he turned and started to walk away, he caught sight of the guy pushing up her skirt to reveal a tiny bright pink thong. He was actually going to go that far? No he was not!

Christopher let out a growl, not trying to hide his anger as he usually did. He knew if there was any place where he could just lay his frustration bare, this was it. He charged and gave the guy a punch, and as the guy got to his feet, intent on punching back, he saw what Christopher had become and screamed. Loudly. Running off as Hannah followed him, protesting.

"You don't have to be afraid!" She cried. "He's really not as bad as he seems. We don't have to stop now! We can just go somewhere else to kiss!"

But he locked himself in the men's room (it was one of those that only had one toilet in it) and as she pounded on the door, Christopher came up behind her, still monstrous-looking with horns, red eyes, and all. "What do you have to say for yourself?" He asked, arms crossed.

"I don't have to say anything," Hannah told him, not looking away or flinching. "I don't see why who I make out with is your business."

"And if you hadn't knocked over my drink while you were making out, it wouldn't have become my business," Christopher replied. "I probably wouldn't have even noticed cause it's not like you and that jerk were the only couple making out in there. But you weren't careful, you knocked over a drink I was really looking forward to having, and I saw him pawing you. Trying to go all the way, right there on a table where people eat! That's disgusting! Oh, and is that pink thong you're wearing new, by the way? Not that I was looking."

Hannah gave him a slap. His demon skin felt rough under her fingers. He didn't even move as a result of what she'd done. It was as if she hadn't touched him at all.

"Are you done?" He asked.

"I don't know," Hannah replied, stepping back a little. "Let me think..."

"That shouldn't have been a question," he corrected himself and picked her up. "You're done. We're leaving. And you never answered my question about the thong."

"Yeah, it's new," Hannah sighed and rolled her eyes. "There, I answered your stupid question. Happy?"

"No, but I'm somewhat less mad," he assured her. Then, as they left, Hannah's make out partner emerged from the bathroom and, stupidly, began throwing punches at Christopher, and the fight proceeded into the main barroom where everyone quickly stopped what they were doing to watch and see what would happen.

It didn't last too much longer though. The other young man, who was just a warlock, was no match for an angry Christopher, and one punch sent him straight into the bar, breaking it in half, with the extra momentum making him hit the shelf where most of the liquor was stored. It sent the shelf tumbling and soon, the young man had been knocked out and was cut by broken glass.

"Oh, dear," Roxie sighed. Then she eyed Christopher. "You better get out of here," she told him. "You're not permanently banned or anything, but, you know, for now, before things get worse."

"Yeah, I know," Christopher nodded. "Sorry. I'm going." Then he picked Hannah up and made his way to the club's from door.

* * *

"You know, you are _very_ pushy," Hannah remarked as Christopher carried her out of the club over his shoulder.

"Yeah, what of it?" Christopher asked. His voice was clipped and he was obviously irritated, but he'd calmed down enough that he looked human again. When she didn't respond, he gave her a spanking. "What of it?" He repeated forcefully. "If you have something you wanna say about me, go ahead and say it!"

"I don't have anything more to say," Hannah told him. "Except I wonder how Lucifer's gonna feel about having to pay for the bar you broke as well as all the wasted alcohol from when you broke the bottles."

"I thought girls were supposed to be over the moon when men fought over them," Christopher told her, finally putting her down on her feet when they reached the car and staring into her wide eyes. "Show a little more gratitude, will you?"

Hannah gave him a long look, then plastered on a wide, fake smile and clasped her hands together. "Oh, Christopher!" She cried in an exaggerated tone. "I am just so touched that you lost your temper and ruined a whole bar because you were jealous that I was kissing another man. If that's not an expression of love, I don't know what is! Take me home and do me right now! I'm so turned on I can't _stand_ it."

"The sarcasm wasn't necessary," he told her as she burst out laughing.

"Of course it was," she said before she got in the car and started to close the door. "Do you realize how _stupid_ you sounded just now?"

"Oh, shut up," Christopher snapped.

As they drove away from the club, Hannah asked, "Where are you taking me now? I think I have the right to know."

"Well, you obviously want to have sex with someone so it should be me, shouldn't it?" He replied simply. "We can go do it at my house."

"Oh, what a nice invitation!" Hannah got out. "Didn't even ask my opinion on the matter or anything."

"Well, I didn't think I needed to ask," Christopher said. "I mean, considering how long you had that guy's tongue in your mouth, what you want's pretty obvious."

"I don't think this is about what I want," Hannah shot back. "You just want to look at my underwear!"

"Yes," Christopher nodded. "Yes I do! And your butt! And your boobs. And I don't want anyone else looking at them, okay? Now you have to be honest about what you want. Do you want me or not? No more screwing around, okay?"

The car lapsed into silence as Hannah and Christopher stared at one another. Then he gripped her hand, squeezing it.

"Ow!" She cried when he squeezed too hard. "That hurt!"

"Sorry," Christopher apologized, then turned around, turned the key, and started the car. "I guess I have my answer. It's good to finally know where I stand."

"But wait! You didn't give me time to say _anything_!" Hannah protested. "Give me a chance, would you?"

"Well, it's just that if you really wanted to be with me, if it was really in your plans, you could just say so and not be silent for a long time," Christopher pointed out. "Am I wrong?"

"No," Hannah sighed. "You're not wrong. And it shouldn't be so hard for me to be up front with my feelings. I know that and I get it. It shouldn't take the threat of you moving on or _actually_ moving on to make me move, but I just..." She took a deep breath and the words came tumbling out before she could get nervous and take them all back.

"I _love_ you, okay? And I want _you!_ I didn't even _like_ that other guy! The whole reason why we were making out where we were is because I saw you sitting nearby and I hoped you would notice and...do what you did. I know it's weird to say, but...it made me feel special, just like you said. Like, if I told you that I wanted you, it would matter and you would say you want me too and I wouldn't have to worry about you running away."

His back was to her, he was still, his hands gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turned white. He didn't say a word in response to what she blurted out. Finally, she reached out and touched his shoulder, making him start pretty badly. Then he turned around to face her, tears in his eyes that had yet to fall down his cheeks. "Do you mean that?" He asked. "You're not just saying it?"

"No," Hannah shook her head and grabbed his face, kissing him soundly. "I mean it! If you mean it too, then why are we just sitting here in this stupid parking lot when there are other, better places we could be? Preferably naked." She grinned widely and he chuckled.

"Sorry," he told her. "I just...thank you, for saying what you said. I needed to hear it. Cause I don't think...I never thought anyone would. Love me one day, I mean." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry for getting all mushy on you. I didn't mean to ruin the moment."

"Oh, you get back here," Hannah ordered and pulled him into the backseat after he turned the car off. They began making out and soon, Christopher realized that as aroused as he was, driving would be difficult. "You wanna take the wheel so we can go home and go to bed?" He asked. "I don't think I can."

She cupped the bulge under his jeans and whispered in his ear. "Of course. And I'll make it fast. Hopefully the last fast thing I'll do tonight."

"Yeah, sure," Christopher nodded. "I don't do fast. You know that."

"Yeah," Hannah nodded, grinning wickedly at him in the rear view mirror before starting the car up again. "I do."

* * *

As promised, she drove home at the speed of light. It was a miracle that she wasn't stopped as Christopher clung to the seat with his very life, whacking his chin on it when she made an abrupt stop in the driveway.

"Sorry," she apologized when she came around to open his door and let him out. "Did you bang your head?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "But it doesn't hurt so much. I'm okay." He grinned and put a finger to his lips. "Remember, we have to be very quiet. We don't want to wake anyone up."

"No," Hannah shook her head. "We sure don't."

With a stealth and silence that belied the passion they were both feeling, they made their way to his room and shut the door behind them, and then Hannah finally burst into laughter as Christopher picked her up and carried her to bed. After he undressed, he joined her and slipped off her panties, which was all she was wearing at that point.

They grinned at each other, the moonlight spilling over Hannah's hair and lovely face from the open window above the bed. Christopher wanted her _bad_. He had never wanted someone so much in his whole life, but he couldn't stop staring at her.

Finally, she took command and was soon straddling him, her fingers lightly running down his bare chest as she leaned forward and kissed his neck, thrusting over and over while he cupped her bottom.

"Good," she panted. "Is that good?"

"Oh, yeah," Christopher nodded as her hips bucked forward. She was riding him hard and he liked it. "You're not getting tired, are you?"

Hannah shook her head, her dark hair flying in her face. "I'm not if you're not," she whispered and licked her lip before thrusting again and making him cry out. "Sorry," she apologized quickly. "Too much?"

"No," he shook his head, his hands moving from her butt and up her sides to cup her breasts and squeeze them gently as she let out a breath and closed her eyes for a moment. "That was good." He paused. "I love you, Hannah."

She grinned and ruffled his hair. "I love you too, Christopher."

* * *

The next morning, they were up and in the kitchen before anyone else in Lucifer's house, which was good. They knew they'd both get grief about being together so their plan was to get Hannah out before anyone saw them and then they'd be spared an inquisition completely. But then, as Hannah was bent over and looking around the fridge for orange juice, Christopher got distracted. She had such nice legs...and he knew she was just wearing a t-shirt with nothing underneath it...

A soft growl escaped his throat and in two bounds, he'd reached the refrigerator door and closed it. As Hannah turned to look at him in irritation, he turned her around to face him and pinned her against the fridge, kissing her soundly, only pausing to lower his boxers. She resisted for a second and even slapped him. But then she threw her arms around his neck and he picked her up as her legs wrapped around his waist.

He kept bumping her against the fridge as he pushed into her and she cried out in response. Neither of them was aware of how much noise they were making until they heard someone clear their throat, making them freeze and stare as Christopher dropped Hannah on the floor.

"Good morning," Lucifer told them as a blushing Christopher pulled his pants up and Hannah got up off the floor and rubbed the bump on her head. "When did you two get in?"

"Last night," Hannah told them. "I hope you don't mind that I...spent the night."

"You can do what you want," Ellie told her. "It's not like we can stop you. But really, you should start thinking about making some sort of commitment or something cause all this back and forth between you is driving everyone crazy."

"Not _everyone_ ," Hannah corrected. "Just you and Mom and Dad."

"I assume you haven't told them about me being pregnant yet because there've been no angry phone calls from Dad," Ellie said.

This announcement made Vincent choke on his spit and signal Valerie to follow him some distance away so he could speak and wouldn't be overheard. "Mom's _pregnant?_ Did you know that?"

"Um, yes!" Valerie nodded. "Because I have _eyes_! How is it that you only know it now? What did you think was going on with her?"

"I thought she was just getting fat from all the extra pancakes and stuff that she eats!" Vincent exclaimed. "And I didn't _want_ to think of any other possibilities cause that's just gross!" He made a face and shuddered.

"The king of the orgy can't stand the fact that his parents have sex," Valerie rolled her eyes. "You're not mature at all, are you?"

"How can it not bother you?" Vincent asked. "You're just so chill!"

"Well, considering that Dad found out about me and Dexter by sneaking into his room unannounced and pulling the covers off me when I wasn't wearing anything, it's hard for me to be shocked by that sort of stuff anymore," Valerie shrugged.

"That's how it happened?" Vincent asked. "Wow, you really need to be better at being sneaky. Like me!" He gave her a smug grin.

"You were _never_ sneaky," Valerie pointed out after she was done laughing. "Mom knew about your orgy parties the whole time you were doing them but didn't know how to deal with it without pushing you away so she just kept quiet."

"She _knew_?" Vincent flushed. "Oh, damn."

"That's right," Valerie grinned and patted his shoulder. "You shamed and embarrassed your mother. I hope you're proud of yourself."

"But she's not embarrassed any more!" Vincent reminded his sister before lowering his voice. "She knows about me and Lauren too, and she's okay with that."

"Just a tip, though," Valerie told him, "If there's any chance Dad might not be because she's human and all, be open with him about it. Tell him yourself before he finds out some other way."

"Thanks," Vincent told her. "Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome," Valerie nodded.

As they turned to go back into the kitchen, they bumped into Lucifer, who had come looking for them. "You two better come back before your breakfast gets cold."

"If it does, we can just warm it up with fire powers, right?" Valerie grinned.

"True," Lucifer nodded. "So...what are you two talking about?"

"I was just helping my brother cope with the whole 'Mom being pregnant' thing," Valerie explained. "He thought she was just getting fat."

 **Ah** , Lucifer nodded as he scribbled. **And naturally you wouldn't want to say something like that out loud to her face or she would kill you.**

 **Yeah,** Vincent wrote. **Exactly. You understand.**

Lucifer nodded. **Well, why don't you come back and eat? You haven't touched a bite.**

When they got back to the table, Hannah (who had zapped on pajama pants) grinned at Lucifer. "You know, Ellie said that if you two end up having a daughter, her name's gonna be Angelica Eve. It really surprises me that you would agree to that."

"Well, I didn't," Lucifer said through his teeth, his eyes narrowing at Ellie, who just looked back innocently. "I don't know why you think I would agree to saddle my child with such a stupid name."

"Well, I like it," Ellie got to her feet. "I think it's pretty. And it's only fair that I get to pick the name this time, isn't it? I mean, you got to pick Vincent and Valerie's names."

"Yes, but I didn't pick them to specifically provoke you!" Lucifer cried. "I know that's what you're doing to me!"

"No, I'm not!" Ellie replied. "Not everything I do is meant specifically to make you mad!"

"Get dressed," he snapped as his eyes found the clock. "We have to get to work and we don't want to be late. Good morning Christopher, Hannah. Children." He crowded Ellie out of the dining room as everyone else stared at one another in silence and then resumed eating.


	67. She's Only Human

Lauren smiled at Vincent as he brought their dinner to her room and set it on a table that took up most of the floor. The table was set with a white table cloth, a couple sets of silverware, and a vase with a red rose in the middle. As she came toward the table and looked at what was on the plates, she grinned, then showed him her phone.

 **You know, this is a pretty fancy set up for cheese pizza,** she grinned. **It's very sweet, but you didn't have to do this.**

Vincent came and read it, then did his best to sign his response: **Yes, I did. I love you.**

This made Lauren try not to laugh because even though she got the gist of what he was saying, it wasn't entirely right. But at least he was trying and making progress and she could appreciate that.

"Thank you," she said, which made Vincent grin and keep his eyes on his plate to hide his blush.

Lauren patted his head and began eating her pizza, and after she finished her first slice, that was when Vincent left and came back with wine and two glasses. "Want some?" He signed.

"Why?" Lauren signed back with a grin. "Are you trying to get me drunk?"

 **No, I just thought it would be nice for us to have with dinner,** Vincent wrote, retreating back to what he felt was the safety of the note pad before pausing to take a bite of one of the two large pieces of cheese pizza on his plate before continuing writing. **But I can always get soda if that would make you more comfortable.**

Lauren smiled and leaned across the table to take his face in her hands and kiss him soundly. **No, the wine is okay,** she wrote with a flourish. **I'll have a glass. I was just teasing you.**

So he poured her a glass of red wine and they lapsed into silence for a while to eat their pizza while casting each other longing glances across the table. To Vince's surprise, once Lauren finished her glass of wine, she asked for another, and then a third, which he didn't give her, because he didn't want her to overdo it. Even so, once her plate was empty, he felt her bare foot push his pantleg up and give his bare leg a rub. He looked down under the table cloth just to be sure that was indeed what he felt, and when he saw that it was true, he looked back up and saw her wink at him.

He then bounded over the table and into her arms as they began kissing and stripping off their clothes. **I see you don't want to wait anymore,** he managed to write on his phone.

 **No,** Lauren shook her head and paused to write back. **But next time, you're taking me out. Like, out of the house. Why do we always stay in? Are you ashamed of me?**

Vince shook his head and smiled as he watched her pull her hair out of its tie. **I just wasn't sure you wanted to go out, what with the police looking for you,** he texted. **But seeing as how they haven't shown up yet, they're either giving up or bad at their jobs, so I think we can take a chance. When do you want to go? Tomorrow?**

Lauren nodded and pulled his pants down before pushing him back on the bed and holding up the last response he got from her before she was on him like a wild animal and his fingers, of course, were threading through her long hair as she kissed down his chest and then sucked on him gently. **Tomorrow is good for me.**

* * *

"Lucy's here with a package," Kai told Lucifer the next day. "I think it's Ellie's naked picture that's finished."

"Oh, delightful!" Lucifer grinned, rising from his chair and clapping his hands once. "I hoped it was coming soon. I've really wanted to see it."

"Why?" Kai asked, following him out of the room. "You've got the real thing in your bedroom any time you want."

"Not so much anymore," Lucifer shook his head. "Eleanor's been quite stubborn about this whole baby name issue and it's made her pull away from me until I agree to what she wants."

"Oh," Kai chuckled. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Just go back to the kitchen!" Lucifer snapped. "You've delievered your message. You don't need to be here anymore."

"Fine," Kai shrugged. "It's not like I want to be. I have better things to do. Victoria is here talking with your wife, so I'm going to see her." He then strode away from Lucifer and went to join Victoria, Ellie, and Lenora in the dining room while they were talking.

"Who was at the door?" Ellie asked.

"It's Lucy with your picture," Kai told her. "You know, the naked one?"

"Oh, I have to go talk to Lucifer about that," Ellie flushed and then looked at her friends. "Would you excuse me for a minute?" She asked. Once she was excused, she ran to his office where she found Lucifer and Lucy chatting about the picture.

"What do you think?" Lucy asked her. "I think it looks good."

"Oh, yeah," Ellie nodded. "Of course it looks good. And so do the photos. I can't thank you enough! But I came in here to remind Lucifer that anything with me naked on it is for his eyes only. No hanging them in public where anyone can see them."

"Why not?" Lucifer asked her. "It's beautiful! It's art, not porn!" He paused. "Well, it could be considered porn, I suppose. But look how tasteful it is. You shouldn't be embarrassed!"

"Yes, I should!" Ellie cried. "It was before I talked to Mom about the pregnancy workout classes at the gym! I look like a lady in a Rubens painting when, if you're gonna display it, I should look like Botticelli's _Venus!_ "

"I think you're being a bit hard on yourself," Lucy told her. "I think it looks great!"

"And do you know how many of these she's done?" Lucifer asked. "She's not just giving you lip service when she says that!"

Ellie sighed and came to sit next to Lucy. "Really?" She asked. "You think it looks good?"

"Yeah," Lucy nodded. "I do."

"Well, thanks," Ellie said and then gave her husband a look. "But you're still not putting it out in public!"

"Not even if you letting me will be one step toward me letting you have the baby name you want and not fighting you about it anymore?" Lucifer asked, which gave Ellie pause. "What do you mean?"

"I have a proposition for you," Lucifer replied. "If you'll be willing to consider it."

It was then that Lucy stood up. "You need me for anything else? I just wanted to bring the picture over personally."

"Oh, I have to give you your check before you go," Lucifer told her and then went to get it. When Lucy saw the amount, she was neither surprised nor shocked, although the average person would have been. Lucifer spent money just like her father did.

"Thanks," Lucy told him. "Anything else you want me to do, just give me a call. You have my number."

"Of course," Lucifer nodded. "What are you going to do now?"

"I have some photos I need to drop off with my father. It was foggy at the cemetery this morning and I thought that would be a good basis for a picture he's planning to work on."

"Ah," Lucifer nodded. "All right. Give him my best, would you? And tell him we're taking good care of Christopher?"

"Sure," Lucy nodded. "Will do! And thanks for reminding me of that fact." She then left the office to go ask Christopher if he had any messages for her to give Klaus when she dropped off his pictures and Ellie sat back down.

"Get out this deal quick. Victoria and Lenora are back in the dining room and they'll be wondering where I've gone off to."

"Here's the quick version," Lucifer told her. "You know that the two names you're so in love with have emotional associations for me that make me reluctant to use them, especially the one in the middle."

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "Exactly."

"Now, I assume you didn't pick the names solely to get a rise out of me, so that's why I'm willing to give you a chance to really fight for them." Lucifer continued. "Am I right?"

"I'll do whatever," Ellie replied. " _Nothing_ you ask for will faze me."

"Oh, really?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "We'll see about that." He paused, got up, and began pacing. "It's not a typical deal of course, with typical consequences, cause as you say, those won't faze you. But if you want to keep the names without complaint from me, you have to let me make...let's see...seven decisions that we would normally make together unilaterally."

"Meaning that you make the choice and I can't protest or complain?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah," Lucifer nodded. "Exactly. And that's adjustable as well. If you want both names for our child, should it be a girl, you let me make seven decisions. If you're willing to give up the middle name, you only have to let me make three decisions, and if you're willing to give up the first name, you only have to let me make four. Otherwise, I will stonewall you on this until forever."

Ellie sighed. "Well, fine," she said. "You can make your stupid unilateral decisions and hang the stupid picture where everyone can see it. But that's worth at least _two_ decisions."

Lucifer clicked his tongue and took her face in his hand, shaking it from side to side, his eyes going red, his voice becoming more demonic than usual for just a moment as Ellie's eyes widened and she squirmed in his grip. "No, no, Eleanor. You can't do that. Not for this. You either do it the way I want, or you don't do it at all." Then he gave her a spanking. "Oh, and if you're wondering, that cute bum of yours won't get you out of anything this time."

"Fine," Ellie huffed, trying to get her composure back and hoped that he hadn't seen that she was afraid. "Hang up the picture and do whatever else. I don't care. You're lucky I'm so attached to that name."

She left Lucifer chuckling behind her back and headed back to Lenora and Victoria, who was cuddling with Kai as he fed her grapes that he got from the refrigerator. "Sorry it took me so long," she apologized and sat down. "I was just making a deal with the devil which I know I'm gonna regret, but whatever."

"That's what everyone who makes a deal with him says," Lenora grinned. "But sometimes, that sort of thing can be worth it, especially if you have the kind of setup you have with Lucifer and I had with James when he was still on the bad side of the Council."

"So what do you have to do?" Victoria questioned. "If I can ask, that is."

"He says he'll stop complaining about the baby name I want if I let him make seven decisions that we would normally make together by himself. The thought is kind of terrifying." Ellie sighed. "I don't know what I'm gonna end up with."

"Well, you know we'll be here to help you deal with it," Victoria reminded her. "No problem there."

"Thanks," Ellie said. "I appreciate it."

As she moped, Vincent came up to her with Lauren on his heels and both were grinning widely. **I hope you aren't expecting me for dinner tonight,** Vincent wrote her. **Lauren and I are going out on a date!**

Ellie grinned. **You mean like out of the house?** She wrote back. **Are you going to take her out to dinner?**

Vincent shook his head. **No,** he returned. **We've already done dinner.** **I want to do something a bit different this time.**

Ellie grinned. **All right,** she returned. **And Vince, I know this is probably none of my business, but...I'm glad you and Lauren like each other. That makes me happy.**

 **I'm happy too,** Vincent scribbled. **At least until Dad finds out. I mean, if Dexter won't cut it for Valerie, we're definitely getting an earful if he finds out that I like a human.**

 **But you don't see that as a bad thing, right?** Lauren asked, giving him a look when she read the exchange. **You love me, don't you? Even if it means making your father mad?**

"Yes," Vincent sighed and took her in his arms while his mother and her friends made happy noises behind his back. "Of course."

* * *

 **Thanks for taking me out** , Lauren told Vincent that evening, pausing in the park where they'd decided to walk in the moonlight. **I know that with the police looking for me, you're a bit hesitant to bring me out and about, but...this is nice. It's a lovely evening.** She took his hand and looked up at the full moon that shown overhead.

 **I actually have even more of a surprise for you,** Vincent wrote and then urged her over to a bench near a lake and sat her down before zapping up a snow cone stand nearby. **Have you ever had a snow cone before? What flavor do you like if you have?**

Lauren signed that she liked red snow cones and then watched him go and get them, wondering just where the snow cone stand had come from because she could swear that it hadn't been there before.

To her delight, he came to join her with a blue snow cone in one hand and a red snow cone in the other. He handed her the red one and then texted one-handed, **aren't you pleased I knew what you said? I bet you thought I wouldn't figure it out!**

 **I hoped you would,** Lauren wrote back. **We've been working on it long enough. But I wasn't sure.**

Vincent grinned and touched her arm and she gasped as she looked up at the sky and saw fireworks. **They're so pretty!** She wrote.

Then Vince smiled and wrote, **not as pretty as you.**

Lauren then threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly, and after they finished their snow cones and watched the rest of the fireworks, he realized that Lauren was sleeping soundly with her head on his chest. He picked her up and carried her to his car, trying his hardest not to wake her, then buckled her in and drove her home.

She woke up for a few seconds just as he tucked her in, signed goodnight and thank you, and then fell asleep again. He gave her a long gaze as he stood beside her bed, and then left so she could sleep in peace.

* * *

After Vincent told Lauren goodnight, he went to the kitchen to get a late night snack cause he was still hungry after his snow cone and found his sister there eating her chocolate cereal at the table.

"You wanted a late night snack too?" He asked.

"Yeah," Valerie nodded. "But probably not for the same reason as you. I bet you need the calories to make up for all the sex you and Lauren have been having. Is that what you did tonight? Did you take her to a hotel or something?"

"No, we watched fireworks and ate snow cones," Vincent scoffed. "What sort of person do you think I am?"

"One who likes sex!" Valerie replied. "You can't blame me for thinking that you have yet to deviate from your usual patterns."

"Well, I'm close to it," Vincent replied. "I think I'm almost ready to tell Lauren that I can talk."

"I don't know if you should," Valerie replied.

"I can't keep living a lie," he told her and took a big swig of juice. "Not if we're gonna have a real relationship. I have to tell her."

"Fine," Valerie nodded. "Tell her now," she pointed. "Cause she's standing right there."

Vincent then turned and spat out the juice that was in his mouth as Lauren stared, open mouthed. She'd seen them talk, which would mean that Vincent could hear what Valerie was saying. She wondered how long he'd been keeping that from her and how long it would have gone on if she hadn't caught him at it now.

Vincent sighed. There was no use hiding it now. "I was going to tell you," he said, signing it the best he could at the same time. "I was _going_ to tell you I could hear, I _swear_!"

But Lauren shook her head, her bottom lip quivering, as she gave him a good hard slap, completely forgetting that she'd come downstairs for a sandwich, and striding back to her room instead.

Vincent ran after her and when he tried to grab her and make her stop, she pushed him against the wall and signed angrily, so fast that he didn't know what she was saying but it couldn't be pleasant.

When she realized that he didn't understand, she pulled at her hair in frustration and wrote it out for him: **I should have known you would lie to me! You've probably been lying to me this whole time about loving me! You're the devil's son! You're a liar and a monster and you're incapable of having real feelings. It was only you messing with my mind that made me think differently!**

That hurt Vincent so much that he just started yelling, regardless of if she could hear him or not and she did all she could to hurt him.

Soon, their fighting awakened Lucifer and Ellie, who came up behind them and tried to stop them, but it took some time.

Finally though, they separated, both breathing heavily and glaring at one another.

 **What's going on?** Ellie wrote as Lucifer held them both apart.

 **He can hear!** Lauren fumed, her writing somewhat difficult to read. **He can hear and he's been lying about it! He's fooled us all! He told me he loved me and he lied! But that's typical of his kind! They'll say anythign to get what they want!**

 **Oh, I'm sure it's nothing like that,** Ellie tried to reassure her. **I'm sure Vincent had his reasons for doing what he did. I for one believe that he really does love you. And I know this looks bad, but maybe you can give him a chance to fix it!**

 **Yeah** , Vincent added to his mother's note. **At least give me a chance to explain myself.**

 **No, no,** Lucifer added his note on top of the others. His wife and son couldn't help but notice that he was slowly turning red and his muscles were tensed. **If she wants to go, let her go. Since you can hear, we have no need for her anyway.**

"But I-" Vincent protested.

"No," Lucifer said firmly and then turned back to Lauren. **You're free to go. I'll wake Jim and he'll get dressed and take you home.**

 **Thank you,** Lauren wrote as she gave Vincent a pointed look. **It's not a moment too soon.**

After Lauren had been sent on her way and Vincent had locked himself in his room, Lucifer met Ellie in their bedroom. "That went well," she huffed. "How could you do that to him? You ruined everything!"

" _I_ did not ruin everything!" Lucifer protested. " _You_ were the one who was encouraging him to have a real relationship with a human! You know that wouldn't have worked out well. If that's how she reacted to finding out that he could hear, how badly would she have handled other things? Sending her away was best for everyone and I don't want to hear a word about it! Not every relationship can be sunshine and love and happily ever after. You really need to stop reading romance novels, Eleanor."

"And _you_ need to have a heart!" Ellie spat, grabbing her pillow and stomping out of the room to head back to the one Lauren had vacated, slamming the door shut, tucking herself in, and crying herself to sleep, knowing that's what her poor son was probably doing also.


	68. It's Better To Have Loved And Lost

Although Lauren was very tired when she finally arrived home and let out, her parents wouldn't let her sleep. They were so happy to see her that they wouldn't let her out of their sight.

"It's so wonderful to see you again," her father signed and then hugged her. "We thought that when you got taken, you'd never come back! What did the kidnappers do to you? Did they hurt you? Are you okay?" He paused and started signing again. "Do we need to get you to a hospital?"

"No," Lauren assured him, her fingers moving deftly. "I'm fine. I was kept in a basement and given food and water and then they let me go."

"But why would they do that?" Her mother signed. "Why would they take you, hide you, and then let you go?"

Lauren shrugged. "I don't know, Mom," she signed back. "I'm tired. Can I go to bed, please?"

"Sure," Her mother returned, signing rapidly after pushing her dark hair out of her eyes and cleaning off her glasses. "I hope you don't mind if I tuck you in."

Lauren shook her head and let her mother lead her to her room and do just that. When her covers were pulled up to her chin, she'd gotten a kiss goodnight, and her bedroom door was closed, she tried to get to sleep, but almost immediately, something prevented it: her phone. Even though she knew who was messaging her, she looked anyway.

 **I hope you're okay, Lauren. I really miss you and I wish you'd given me time to explain. I love you. Vincent.**

Lauren scoffed, deleted the message, and turned off her phone before trying to get back to sleep again. She knew that wouldn't be the last time she'd hear from him. A sensible person would take the hint and move on, but not him. No, men like him never wanted to give up their toys. The idea that they weren't wanted was completely foreign to them. So she would endure him pushing and pushing. But she wouldn't give him what he wanted, she resolved as she tried to relax and get some sleep. She had just as strong of a will as he did, so he was not going to win. Not when he lied and deceived her. Not when he treated her so badly.

* * *

Back at Lucifer's house, things were not peaceful. Ellie, unsurprisingly, hated Lucifer's attitude about Vincent and Lauren. And Lucifer stayed firm about his decision, truly believing that he had done what was right. Every time he came into a room that Ellie was in, she would leave it and slam the door as loudly as possible.

She was also very relieved when her exercise classes started and she had an hour to herself a couple of times a week away from the office.

Her mother was the one who taught the spin class Ellie also chose to take, and it didn't take long for Sarah to realize something was up. "Everything okay at home?" She asked as they sat down at a table with bottles of water one day. "How's the baby doing? Hannah told me about it. And just so you know, your dad doesn't mind either."

"The baby's fine," Ellie sighed. "Thanks for being so good about it. It's _Lucifer_ that's the problem. Vincent and Valerie are trying to have love lives and he always ruins them. First it was him throwing Dexter out when he found out about him and Valerie and the other night, he threw Lauren out when he found out Vincent had feelings for her. It makes no sense to me why he makes such a big fuss about it. I don't know how to deal with him anymore!"

"Do you want to come home?" Sarah offered. "You know you can."

"No, I'm not leaving my kids alone in the house with him," Ellie shook her head. "Not when he's in such a vicious and unpredictable mood." They talked until Ellie got a call on her phone from Lucifer, asking where she was.

"I'm exercising," she snapped. "You told me it was okay! You want something done before it's time for me to come back, you do it yourself!" She then ended the call, put her phone down, and rubbed her temples as her mother rubbed her back.

"What's the problem again?" Sarah asked. "Did you say it had to do with your kids?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "You know, they aged fast just like I did and so they're at the point where they're wanting to be in romantic relationships and for some reason, they just...they seem to pick people that Lucifer is just opposed to, and he won't explain why."

"Well, have you tried to get him to talk about it?" Sarah questioned. "Maybe you should."

"I don't know if it'll work," Ellie sighed. "I suppose I could try."

"I know it's a pain in the ass to feel like you always have to give in during an argument, but is winning more important, or is being on good terms with a man you love more important?" Sarah asked. "You _do_ love him, right?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I suppose I do. And part of me kind of misses how things are when they're running smoothly." She sighed. "I hate loving someone when they frustrate me so much!"

"That's how I was with your dad," Sarah sighed. "Junior, I mean. I know just what you're saying." She paused. "So...are you gonna run back to work now that class is over, or...?"

"I think I'll do a few laps in the pool," Ellie said with a grin. " _Then_ I'll go back to work."

"All right," Sarah nodded. "If you need anything, just give a yell. And if I'm not nearby, you know you can ask your uncle Patrick. He's in the office now."

"Good," Ellie told her. "Thanks a lot."

* * *

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence," Lucifer remarked as Ellie strode back into his office at last. a smug grin on her face as she leaned on his desk. "It's about time. What took you so long?"

"I told you," Ellie replied. "And I'm really not in the mood to repeat it. And since everything seems to be all in one piece here, probably due to the competence of others besides you, I don't know why you needed me to rush over here so fast anyway."

"Because it's middle of a work day," Lucifer snapped through his teeth. "People can't just up and leave to go do whatever they want in the middle of a work day."

"I did _not_ just stride off!" Ellie reminded him. "You gave me permission! You said it would be a good idea for me to exercise!" She threw up her hands. "But why am I bothering defending myself? It's not like you listen anyway, since you're intent on ruining everyone's lives! It's bad enough that you've wrecked love for the twins. I don't see why you have to start in on me too." She started to leave but his voice made her freeze at the door.

"Because you were stupid enough to let Vincent carry on with a human, that's why," Lucifer reminded her. "I told you that."

"I'm _stupid_?" Ellie spun around. "Now you're telling me I'm _stupid_? Well, fine. In the spirit of us getting along even in this time of you being difficult, I was gonna invite you to come to the ultrasound with me so you could see what sort of kid we're having, but now I don't think I want you there."

"Fine," Lucifer replied. "I don't think I want to be there either. Now I have some files that need sorting. They're in your office, they'll take some time, and I would like that done before the end of the day."

"Fine," Ellie nodded. "No problem."

"Good," Lucifer shouted after her. "There shouldn't be!"

"There isn't because I'm the one who keeps this place running!" Ellie cried. "I and everyone else but you. If just you were in charge, everything would be a mess. Try and be grateful, would you?"

* * *

To get away from the fighting at home, Valerie began spending a lot of time at Dexter's new apartment. Even though it was small, it was tidy and peaceful and that was good enough for her. _Anywhere_ that allowed her to be with Dexter was good enough for her.

Usually when she stayed for dinner, he brought her fast food from a place called Happy Burger. She liked it, but after a couple of times, she asked him why he always picked that place.

"Sorry," Dexter blushed. "It's where I work now. I got a job as a cook there and they give me free food."

"Really?" Valerie asked and picked a handful of fries out of the bag. "That's great! Financial independence is a wonderful thing!" She was happy for him, but the thought of how far he'd fallen, from her father's second in command to a fry cook, was troubling to her, even if it made him happy. Maybe knowing that was what would get her father to finally apologize and restore order to the household.

"Isn't it?" Dexter grinned. "I know it's not the same as what I used to do, but my boss there is just as needy and demanding as your dad, so I think I can handle it."

"Oh, please don't talk to me about Dad," Valerie groaned, pausing with her fries for a minute to take a bite out of a chicken nugget. "He's really being jackass right now."

Dexter sighed. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said. Then he paused. "How's your mother dealing with that? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's holding up," Valerie nodded. Then to change the subject, she looked around at the simply but elegantly decorated apartment. "This is a lovely place," she remarked. "I like what you've done with it."

"Thanks," Dexter replied, picking up on the fact that she didn't want to talk about her parents anymore. "Pick up your bag of food."

"Okay," Valerie nodded and let out a giggle as he picked her up, kissed her cheek, and carried her to the couch. She finished her chicken nuggets and then she and Dexter split the rest of the fries before Valerie rested her head on his chest. "It's so nice to be here. Can I just move in with you?"

"Are things really that bad at your house?" Dexter asked. "Your father hasn't hurt of you, has he? Maybe I should come over there and have a talk with him."

"No, he hasn't hurt any of us," Valerie was quick to assure him. "At least not physically. But emotionally, he's done a number on everyone. Why does he always have to be right all the time?"

"Cause that's just how he is!" Dexter sighed. "Believe me. I mean, I hope he and your mom can work things out before he has another fall. This time it'll cost him the few people who can actually tolerate him and like him."

"I don't think I'm wrong to want a relationship or a life outside my house," Valerie said. "Am I?"

"Well, of course not!" Dexter shook his head. "And Vincent's not either."

"Do you think...do you think Dad's acting like this because it was like when you left?" Valerie questioned. "He thinks that if we have focuses on something besides him, he'll lose us completely so he's holding on way too tight?" She paused and shook her head. "Sorry. I don't know why I'm still talking about him when this was just supposed to be about you and me."

"No, it's okay," Dexter assured her, running his fingers through her hair. "I know you have a lot about your dad to get off your chest and who could answer your questions better than me?"

"You're a very patient man, Dexter," Valerie grinned and got off his lap. "That's for sure." She then took his hand and pulled him to his feet. "Want to show me the rest of your place?" She asked. "I'd especially like to see the bedroom."

Dexter chuckled like an idiot, even though he'd known from the second she strode through the door that the request was coming. "Sure," he nodded. "Come with me."

The room he led her into was not unlike the room he'd had at her house, only smaller. He raised an eyebrow as she immediately began to strip down. "Not wasting any time, are you?" He questioned.

"Well, would you rather we didn't?" Valerie paused, her shirt halfway up. "I thought you wouldn't mind."

"Of course I don't mind, but are you wanting to do this as a way to avoid your problems, or because you really want to?" Dexter questioned.

Valerie let out an impatient noise. "I don't want to be analyzed tonight, Dexter!" She cried. "I just...I just don't!"

"Okay, I'm sorry," he apologized, taking her in his arms and then helping her off with her shirt and then carrying her underwear clad body to his bed. "I'm sorry." He undressed her the rest of the way and undressed himself before kissing and slowly massaging her body all over. Normally, she was all ready to take control, but this time, she didn't want to. Instead, Valerie shut her eyes and just let him do what he wanted. He was really good at it, especially as he pulled her close, whispered lovely things in her ear, and buried himself inside her over and over again.

* * *

As the days went by, Lauren discovered, much to her irritation, that she was correct about how persistent Vincent was. Being at work provided some much needed distraction and a reason to avoid looking at her phone because of course, she had to focus on her students. Then she usually deleted Vincent's barrage of desperate, lovestruck text messages over her lunch hour. It was irritating as hell, but something she could deal with. Until finally, one day, he visited her in the middle of class. Strode right through her classroom door in the middle of lessons and handed her roses and gave her a kiss as the students watched. It felt good, she had to admit, but it was too much. He had overstepped his boundaries. The kiss had barely ended when she pushed him away, threw the roses down on the ground, stomped on them, and began shouting.

"Okay, that's it!" She cried. "I have put up with your text messages, even though it would be clear to any sane person that when things like that don't get a response, they need to move on and leave well enough alone! Why can't you get that through your head? Why do you have to come here and humiliate me like this? Does it make you happy? Does it give you a thrill? If you think it'll make me fall into your arms and like you again, it's the complete opposite: it's made me hate you worse. Take your roses and get out. I never want to see you again!"

Vincent felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. He hadn't understood every word she'd said, but the 'Take your roses and get out. I never want to see you again' had been clear enough. He leaned down and picked them up off the floor, trying to control his feelings. No way was a woman and a bunch of little kids gonna see him cry. No way. When he had roses in hand, he locked eyes with her and signed "I'm sorry" before turning on his heel and striding out.

Afterward, Lauren shut the door behind him and tried to get back to business as usual, but had to spend the following half an hour explaining to the kids just who that was that had come to give her the flowers and why she was so mad at him in the first place. Not the real story, of course. That would be too much for their little brains to handle. It was a good thing she was skilled at making stuff up.

* * *

Despite her rejection (and even though he knew in his heart that it was kind of creepy) Vincent could not bring himself to desert Lauren entirely. She'd come into the supernatural world. She'd found out about demons and witches and vampires. She'd met the devil himself. And you couldn't just resume having a normal life after that, no matter how much you wanted to. It was impossible. Plus, given his father's anger about their relationship, Vincent had a nagging suspicion that Lucifer would come for her one day and try and kill her so that he would move on and like someone else. To prevent something like that from happening, he watched her every day. Not that she ever knew he was there. He was very careful to keep his distance.

He did this for several days, and for several days, nothing happened. He began to think he was being silly and overprotective. Then, one night, as he was leaving the Underground, he saw a familiar group of demons huddled on the sidewalk nearby, since they weren't allowed in. And they were talking about something.

Not wanting to freak them out, Vincent stayed quiet and took tiny steps close to them until he heard at least bits and pieces of what they were saying.

"...We have to get her..."

"...Don't think we haven't forgotten..."

"...She's just a stupid human anyway...no one will miss her..."

"It will be slow and painful..."

"...Let's send some of her hair to her boyfriend after she's gone. It's long and blonde and pretty. Something to remember her by..."

That was it. They were plotting to kill Lauren! It took all Vincent had in him not to go full on Devil on their asses, but he kept his calm. He took a deep breath, listened a little longer, then strode away, thankful that he'd paid attention to his instincts to protect the woman he loved, even if, for now, she didn't want his protection. Or his love. Or anything. That didn't matter to him. He just wanted her to be safe after all she'd been through. That was more important to him now than anything else.


	69. You Give Me Life

"Hey," Ellie told Lucifer one day, throwing him his coat. "Get that on and come to the car with me. It's time to go."

"Go where?" Lucifer asked. "Is this some sort of punishment? What if I don't want to go anywhere with you?"

"It's _not_ a punishment!" Ellie told him earnestly. "It's ultrasound day and I want you to come. You know you want to come too. Admit it!"

"Oh, all right," Lucifer sighed, trying not to sound too eager. "I'll come." He paused. "But what changed your mind, though? You told me you didn't want me to come at all."

"I said it in anger," Ellie told him firmly. "I was wrong. And I know you'll never admit this, but...part of why you've been so scared about the twins is because you think they'll leave and neve come back. I don't want you to think you'll lose a chance to be in this baby's life too."

"What?" He protested. "I would never think..."

"Never mind," Ellie cut him off and grabbed his hand. "Get up, put on your coat, and let's go. We don't want to be late, do we?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "Do you want me to drive?"

"Yeah, I think that would be best," Ellie nodded. "Angelica likes to make her presence known and a sudden, unexpected kick could make me lose control of the car if I was driving and we certainly don't want that."

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "We sure don't. Not that something as banal as a car crash would do our child any real harm, but who wants to take chances?"

"Right," Ellie nodded. "Exactly."

They shouted some orders about what needed to be done in their absence and then were on their way to the hospital.

"I know we're not on the best of terms right now, but let's just be civil while this is happening, okay?" Ellie requested. "No starting any fusses or fights."

"Fine," Lucifer snapped. "I'll behave if you will." He paused and grinned. "Actually, I'll be so busy thinking about what decisions I'll be able to make on my own that I won't be in the mood to start a fight. I think the first one will be that I want to be the one to decorate the baby's room."

"Okay, sure," Ellie nodded. "You did all right with the twins. I can admit that. It's a good start."

"Wonderful," Lucifer grinned. "Nice to see you agree."

* * *

They kept up light conversation until they reached the hospital and ran inside, where Lucifer's good mood disappeared when he was told that he and Ellie would have to wait for her appointment. "We shouldn't have to wait!" Lucifer cried and pounded his fist on the table. "Do you know who _she_ is? Do you know who _I_ am? We own all you people!"

"Lucifer, it's okay," Ellie said, trying to ease him away from the table. "The receptionist is just doing her job and we _are_ a bit early. Now let's sit down, relax, and wait. Remember your promise not to start any fusses or fights?"

"I thought that only applied to _you_ ," Lucifer sighed and fidgeted in his chair. "If I'd have known that it meant I couldn't start fights with _anyone_ , I never would have agreed to it."

Ellie sighed and grabbed his hand, keeping a tight hold on it.

"Do you think that's going to keep me still?" Lucifer asked.

"Well, no, but I hope so," she told him. "I would give you the snack I have in my purse too, but it's mine, and you're not a five year old."

"You're lucky I just like that we're touching again," Lucifer whispered and finally eased back into his chair. "Cause it means that I'm not going anywhere and you don't even have to yell."

"Good," Ellie leaned her head back and shut her eyes. "Wake me up when they call my name, would you? I want to get some rest in."

"Sure," Lucifer nodded and moved some hair out of her eyes. "I will. Go right ahead."

* * *

When their names were finally called, Ellie thought Lucifer's impatience would end, but she was clearly wrong. He was not a patient guy. But she knew that. Instant gratification was one of his biggest things, and naturally, it didn't always work out for him. But that didn't stop him from trying to move things along as Ellie was prepped for the ultrasound.

"How long is this gonna take?" Lucifer asked the technician, whose name was Louise, impatiently, hopping on the balls of his feet as goo was smeared all over Ellie's belly. "When do I find out what kind of baby I'm having?"

"Just a minute," Ellie said. "Be patient! And you're not having this baby, _I am_!"

"Oh, it's all right," Louise grinned. She'd been on the job for a while and she'd seen it all. "He's not the first eager parent and he won't be the last. Is it your first?"

"No, third," Ellie replied. "This one's got twin siblings at home."

Lucifer got close to Ellie as the scanner brought a picture on the screen. "Girl or boy?" He asked.

"A little girl," Louise replied, leaving both Ellie and Lucifer to exclaim joyfully at the same time.

"Both wanted a little girl, huh?" The older woman chuckled.

"Yeah, we both wanted a daughter," Ellie replied as Lucifer alternated between staring at the image of his daughter with a goofy grin on his face and writing on the pad he'd slipped into hsi jacket pocket. "And he won the bet, so now he's figuring out how I pay the piper." She propped herself up on her elbows. "Is she healthy? Is there anything weird going on that we need to know about?"

"Nope," Louise shook her head. "Considering all the power she's got in her, she's handling quite well."

"Of course she is!" Lucifer exclaimed. "Why wouldn't she?"

"Well, sometimes, large concentrations of power in someone so small leads to difficulties," Louise replied. "Not always, but we always want to make parents aware of it. It's been a common worry with all the hybrid children being born lately. But let me reiterate, your daughter is fine. Coming along very nicely." She eyed Ellie. "Do you have an appointment with a doctor today?"

"I have one later this week and so far, everything's been good," Ellie replied.

"Good," Louise nodded. "Good. Any other questions?"

"No," Ellie and Lucifer looked at one another and shook their heads. "We're good."

"All right, let's get you cleaned up then," Louise grinned at Ellie.

"No, don't!" Lucifer cried. "I just want to look at her for a little longer!"

"We can get you an image you can carry around," Louise reassured him.

"You can?" Lucifer asked. "Well, good. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Louise grinned.

They then left the hospital and kissed in the parking lot for a bit before heading back to the office and working in relative harmony for the rest of the day.

* * *

It was good that he'd worked on softening Ellie all day because when he got home, Lucifer realized he'd have to do it again on Valerie if he ever expected her to talk to him again. He grabbed some cake and headed to her bedroom.

"Hi," He poked his head through the half-open door. "Can we talk? I have cake."

"Oh, sure," Valerie sighed. She'd known this was coming. "Come in, let's talk."

"You and Vincent are going to have a little sister," Lucifer told her after handing her the plate. "Isn't that great news?" He gave her a hopeful smile and waited for her response.

"Yeah," Valerie nodded and poked at the cake. "It's great. So how much are you making Mom pay now that you know you're actually gonna have to call a daughter of yours Angelica?"

"Oh, it won't be anything that bad!" Lucifer brushed the question aside. "I'm just insisting that I make a few decisions on my own that we would normally make together, that's all. And she agreed to let me do it. That's how badly she wanted your sister to have that name."

He watched her take a few small bites of the cake, poke at it with her fork, and then put it on her desk before staring at him and heaving a big sigh.

"All right," he told her. "This is about Dexter, I know it."

"Well, gee, aren't you smart?" Valerie snapped. "Daddy, how could you have just thrown him out like that? I know you were upset about how we were sneaking around, but...he didn't deserve to be thrown out of his home! Now he's cooking burgers at some crappy fast food restaurant and living in an apartment that's roughly the same size as my walk-in closet! How do you feel about reducing him to that?"

"He...he's doing _what_ and living _where_?" Lucifer asked, feeling genuinely dumbfounded. "I didn't expect him to do that. I just thought he'd walk around the block for a bit until I calmed down and then come back. I mean, I set him on fire more than once and he always came back."

"Well, this time, it was too much," Valerie pointed out. "And he likes independence, so I don't think you'll be able to woo him back without some sort of sincere apology and proof that you'll never behave that way again."

"Or you could do it for me," Lucifer said. "He likes you. He'll listen to you."

"No!" Valerie shook her head. "Not doing your dirty work for you. This is between you and Dexter and it's the only way it's gonna get solved."

Lucifer then grinned and took a large wad of money out of his pocket. "What if I give you _all_ of this to talk to Dexter for me?"

"No," Valerie shook her head and got up right in his face. "I can't be bought, Daddy. I have my favorite sins, but greed...it's not high on the list. And I know why this is so hard for you to deal with. This Dexter thing. You want him to come back really bad, don't you? You miss him. And admitting you wrong him...it hurts, doesn't it?"

Suddenly, Lucifer began speaking, saying things he would never say out loud. Not even to Eleanor. "Yes," he got out. "I miss Dexter very much. He means a lot to me and I want him to come back, but I'm afraid that if I try and talk to him, he'll just reject me and I can't stand that."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Valerie grinned and backed away. "It wasn't so hard for you to admit that getting Dexter back is what you desire more than anything." She grinned.

"I can't believe you just did that to me!" Lucifer cried, feeling dumbfounded. "How could you...I..."

"Who cares?" Valerie cried and scribbled directions to Dexter's apartment. "Here's where he lives. Go and make up with him. You'll feel better after. I promise."

"I probably won't, but okay," Lucifer replied, still not able to entirely shake off the fact that his daughter had used her powers on him.

"Bye!" Valerie called cheerfully as he left her room. "Good luck!"

* * *

"Well, look who it is," Dexter said when he opened the door to his apartment and found Lucifer standing on the other side. "How did you find me?"

"Just had a meaningful chat with my daughter," Lucifer said. "She told me you were working at a burger restaurant and she seemed really distressed about it. Wanted me to come and do something to change your circumstances. Maybe get you the job that's more worthy of your skills?"

"I'm not moving back into your house," Dexter told him as Lucifer sat down on the sofa and stretched out. "We know that will be better for both of us since I'm in a relationship with Valerie now." He paused. "I'm not giving her up. I hope you understand that."

"How could I not?" Lucifer questioned. "You've made your stance painfully clear. But I suppose..." He paused. It took him awhile to get the next sentence out. "I suppose that as long as your relationship with Valerie doesn't interfere with your work and I don't have to witness it, I have no objections that I can voice without causing trouble, so it's not really worth voicing them at all."

"Thank you," Dexter told him. "That's very big of you. I appreciate it."

Lucifer grinned. "It _is_ big of me, isn't it? Once again, I've nipped that pride problem in the bud, haven't I?"

"Yes," Dexter rolled his eyes when Lucifer wasn't looking. "Definitely. Any other news?"

"We're having a little girl," Lucifer got out.

"Oh," Dexter grinned widely. "Angelica Eve. How do you feel about that?"

"Well, I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with it," Lucifer admitted. "But I can always use a nickname, can't I?"

"Yes," Dexter nodded. "You can. That's a possibility."

Lucifer then looked around Dexter's small apartment. "You know, Valerie was right when she mentioned that this whole place was barely bigger than her closet. How can you be comfortable here?"

"Well, if it means I can do what I want without worrying about bothering someone or having someone interfere in my life, I'll take it," Dexter replied. "It's not perfect, but freedom has a price, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Lucifer sighed. "It does. But I promise if you come back I won't be so bad. I can be better. I just...I'm a mess without you!"

"Well, I could have told you that!" Dexter remarked.

"If you knew that then why are you staying away?" Lucifer questioned.

"Because I'm tired of just being a pawn to you," Dexter replied. "You're one of the most important people in my life and helping you and seeing you be happy and grow and things like that is good. But this thing with Valerie...it makes us both happy and it's not going to go away. If you want me to come back, you have to accept that. And I wouldn't mind an apology for being thrown out the way I was, either. You didn't even give me a chance to explain myself."

"And I'm sorry about that," Lucifer told him. "I really am. I let my emotions get the best of me. I behaved badly and it's ruining my life! I need help! I can't do everything on my own! I'm sorry! Help me, please!" He grabbed Dexter by the arms and gave him an imploring look.

"If I agree to work with you again, you have to promise to not interfere with me and Valerie," Dexter said.

"All right, as long as you're discreet," Lucifer countered. "No sticking tongues down each other's throats at the breakfast table or anything like that."

"Oh, I'm _plenty_ discreet," Dexter reminded him. "I'm no exhibitionist. The only reason you found out about me and Valerie at all was because you sneaked into my room without asking and found her in my bed."

"True," Lucifer admitted, running his fingers through his dark hair. "And I could _not_ be sorrier about that. Believe me."

"I do," Dexter told him, catching him by surprise. "Which is why I'm gonna help you. You need it. I know that. But things aren't gonna be like they used to be between us. I'm just telling you that right now. Can you accept that?"

"Yeah," Lucifer nodded. "If it means you have my back, I think I can." He paused. "Oh, and when do you want me to send people to come get your things? I knew you'd say 'Yes' to helping me again so I already broke your lease with the landlord."

"We might as well start hauling stuff out now," Dexter sighed. "There's really no other choice, is there?"

"No," Lucifer grinned and nudged his friend toward the apartment door. "Not really."

* * *

"How much longer do you think you can do this?" One of the demons Vincent had enlisted to help him watch Lauren's house asked him. "You have to go home and get some rest. You're not like us where it's optional. You need it!"

"No," Vincent shook his head, even though he was ready to pass out right there on the grass. "I have to stay and make sure the demon bastards don't come and hurt Lauren or her family!"

"And they won't!" The demon assured him. "We'll stay here and watch the house and let you know if something happens. Go home, sleep. You'll do more for her that way."

"Okay," Vincent hesitated, but finally zapped himself home, changing his clothes and shutting his eyes. He didn't sleep well, though. He had a dream, in black and white, like a silent film. Lauren was leaning out a window, yelling for him, but he couldn't hear a word. She was in a white dress, and the house was on fire. He was running, running toward her. He had to get her out...

He was not surprised then when he awoke to the sound of his cell phone ringing. When he answered it, he heard screaming in the background. "You need to get down here," his man ordered. "We're fighting with Lauren's tormentors right now. They brought people with them. We're nearly outnumbered. We can fight them, but if you want to get her family out, you'll have to do it yourself. Can you?"

But there was no response. Vincent was already gone.

* * *

Knowing he had no time to lose, Vincent zapped himself on the front steps of Lauren's house and, disregarding the demon fight around him, made his way inside. Fire was everywhere and the smoke was thick. He knew instinctively that if wasn't what he was, and was human like Lauren and her family, he would be dead by now, or close to it.

He called out her name, and his heart sank when he got no response. Then he heard it: cries for help. Not clear or strong, but there. Someone was alive! He made his way toward the cries and discovered that they came from Lauren's father, not from Lauren herself. It was a bit of a disappointment, but he was still Lauren's family, so Vincent tried to save him. He was trapped under some roof beams had pinned him and just from looking at him, Vincent could tell he was in a lot of pain. Her mother was in the same situation nearby.

"Don't worry about us," he choked out as Vincent tried to push the cabinet off him and then the one off Lauren's mother. "It's Lauren that's in the most danger. Save her. Please. She's trapped upstairs and I don't think she has any way to get out." He could hear quite well. It was only Lauren's mother who was deaf, he remembered.

It didn't take much more than that to get Vincent to obey. Although he felt incredibly guilty just leaving his future in-laws to die, they were right: Saving Lauren was more important.

He zapped himself up to the second floor and pulled every door off its hinges to look for her. Of course she was in the last room he looked in. It was full of smoke and fire prayed that Lauren wasn't dead. He found her in her bed with the covers pulled up to her chin and her face and arms badly burned.

"What are you doing?" He asked. She was very nearly dead. "Don't tell me you just gave up. Don't!" He didn't want her to die. He had to help her. Whether it was for her own good or for his own purposes, he wasn't sure, but he decided to bite his wrist and put some blood in her mouth.

"Swallow," he begged. "Please!"

She barely had enough strength, and just as she swallowed, her half-open eyes closed and she went still.

He pulled her to him, holding her close and hoping with all his might that the blood he'd given her had been enough. He also knew that if it was, she'd have a lot to deal with when she woke up, but at least she would still be alive and they would help her through everything else.

* * *

Leaving the inferno behind, which had been more of a hell for him than actual Hell, Vincent brought Lauren home and tucked her into her bed in the room she'd used before. Then he went and told his parents what happened to her. "She couldn't get away from the fire," he exclaimed. "She was trapped. She was nearly dead when I found her and I couldn't just let her go. Her father asked me to save her. I didn't have any other choice!"

Ellie was nearly in tears, but Lucifer just rolled his eyes heavenward and sighed deeply. "Now she's one of us, then? I should have known this would happen. What's done has already been done. No use harping on it."

"No," Vincent shook his head. "I put her in her old room. What should we do now?"

"Well, we should probably go and see if she's awake," Ellie sniffled. "If she is and she's all alone, she's probably terrified!"

They all ran to the room, and as Ellie predicted, Lauren was wide awake and sitting up. Of course she was terrified, and the sight of Vincent didn't soothe her as much as he expected. "What's happened?" She asked. "Did you kidnap me? Where are my parents?" She paused, her jaw dropping. "I can hear myself talk!" She said. "Why can I do that?"

"Your house was on fire," Vincent told her. "The demons who came after you earlier, the ones I saved you from at the Underground? They wanted revenge. So they set your house on fire and I got you out. Of course, you nearly died first, so I had to save you. You're like me now. No one will ever hurt you again."

"And what about my parents?" Lauren questioned, still not used to the sound of her own voice in her ears. "Did you save _them_ , too?"

Vincent shook his head. "There wasn't time." he told her. "I could only save _you_ , so I did."

That was a punch in Lauren's gut. How could he be so selfish? He probably only saved her for his own selfish reasons. If he'd really cared, he wouldn't have let her parents die so she would be all alone in the world. And not only was she alone in the world now, she was probably some sort of monster besides. He just had no shame, did he?

"How could you do this to me?" She whispered, even as he looked at her with more wonder and love than she felt she deserved. "How could you make it so I was all alone?"

"You're not alone," Vincent shook his head. "You have me! My family is your family, and my home is your home. I would never want you to be alone. I love you too much to do something like that to you. You might not believe it now. In fact, you probably don't. But I hope you will someday."

"Yeah," Lauren nodded, trying to stay angry, even though the loving tone in his voice was making her feel kind of fuzzy inside. "I hope I will too, since it's the only choice I have left." Then she leaned back and shut her eyes. "I've been through a lot and I would like to sleep now if that's all right with you."

"Yeah, sure," Vincent nodded. "We'll leave you alone. If you need something, just tell one of us, all right?"

"I don't think I'll be doing that," Lauren told him and pulled her blankets over her head. "You've done more than enough for me tonight."


	70. The Demon Dinner Party

"What do you think?" Maeve asked Junior as she stood in front of him in a flouncy dress with different colored flowers on it. "Do I look less imposing than I did when your parents met me?"

"Yeah, you look good," Junior replied and chuckled. "But Halloween is several months away still."

"Halloween?" Maeve put her hands on her hips and frowned. "What do you mean? If you think it looks bad, just say so!"

"Well, it's supposed to be a costume, right?" Junior questioned and sat up straight, pulling her toward him so he could get a better look. "Why would you dress like that?"

"I want...I want to have another go at this whole 'being social' thing," Maeve explained. "If you want us to be a couple so bad, I would think you'd have considered that by now. I want to have a dinner to show just how much more well-adjusted I've become."

"You want to have a dinner?" Junior repeated dryly. "I don't know about that. Can you cook? I could do it if you want."

"No!" Maeve shook her head. "I want to do this entirely on my own. And what does it matter if I can't cook? I know you can pay people to do it for you. That'll be just as good and who will care about the difference?"

She grinned and went for the phone. Junior wasn't sure about this. Much like his adoptive grandfather Adrian, he disliked dressing up for big elaborate social occasions. But then he thought, if it meant seeing Maeve possibly making a fool of herself, he could wear a suit for a few hours.

She came back later, a big grin on her face. "All right," she said. "It's all set. Saturday at seven. Now get out all the laughter and jeering that I know you want to do. Get it out of your system now so I won't have to deal with it on the actual night of the party."

"You're really serious about this, aren't you?" Junior questioned. "Wow. Wasn't expecting that."

"So you'll...you'll help host the party with me?" Maeve grinned and began unbuttoning his shirt. "Cause I would really like that."

"You would?" Junior grinned back and kissed her as he ran his fingers through her hair. "How can I help?"

"Well, for now all I can say is dress nice and be cheerful, but I can probably think of something else for you to do if you want." She paused. "We're gonna need guests and invitations and stuff! Maybe we can work on that now. Are you busy?"

"No," Junior shook his head. "I mean, there's still half an hour left in my TV show, but..."

"Oh, you recordered that and you can watch it later, can't you?" Maeve asked, pulling him away from the couch. "It won't take very long, I promise."

"All right," Junior replied. They went to the store and got a bunch of fancy-looking invites, then brought them back home. "All right," Junior said, grabbing a pen and sitting down at the kitchen table as Maeve took a seat beside him. "Who will we invite?"

"Well, we'll be there, of course," Junior replied. "You wanna invite Ellie and Lucifer, or will that be too weird?"

"No, I think we should invite them," Maeve insisted, intent on showing Lucifer how she was living all right away from his house. Then she grinned. "Let's invite Sarah and Josh too!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Junior asked.

"I thought you two got along now," Maeve said. "And they've invited us over. Isn't it right to return the favor?"

"Okay, we'll invite Josh and Sarah," Junior agreed. He wrote it down and kept thinking. "Any other ideas?"

Maeve went to look at the table and saw that there were four chairs left to fill at the dining room table. "What about Hannah and Christopher?" She asked. "I know Hannah's not your kid, but what would it hurt?"

"All right," Junior nodded. "That wouldn't bother me." He paused. "And I don't know Ellie's kids really well. Maybe we should invite them too."

"Let's do one twin at a time," Maeve suggested. She knew Vincent was fully focused on everything with Lauren, so it would be better to invite Valerie and Dexter first. "Do you mind? I think you'll like Valerie. And she probably won't want to come without Dexter. They'll round out the table."

"All right," Junior said and pulled the cards and envelopes toward him. "Let's get the invitations written."

"Yeah," Maeve grinned and came to sit on Junior's lap before stealing his pen and giving him a kiss. "Let's do it!"

* * *

Lucifer came home at lunch a few days later to check on Ellie, who'd gone home for a nap, and was met at the door by Dexter. "You got here just in time," he told him.

"Why?" Lucifer asked. "Is something wrong with Eleanor? She can't be going into labor yet! It's too early!"

"Oh, it's nothing that bad," Dexter reassured him. "She found the invitation for Junior and Maeve's just needs a little encouragement about how good she'd look in a party dress, that's all. Go and do it. And remember to be sensitive!"

"I can be sensitive!" Lucifer told him. "Especially to Eleanor!"

He found her and Valerie in their bedroom and Ellie was sobbing in her daughter's shoulder, a bit of paper held in her hand.

"What's going on?" Lucifer asked Valerie. "What's the matter?"

"Maeve and Grandpa Junior are having a party," Valerie explained after getting up. "And Mom's not sure she can go. Since I'm invited too, I told her I would be there for her, but she's still on the fence. Maybe you can convince her."

"Why don't you think you can go to the party, Eleanor?" Lucifer asked, taking the spot on the bed that Valerie had vacated and pulling Ellie into his arms for a little while before she calmed down and spoke.

"Cause I look so _fat_ today! See?" She stood up, sniffling as Lucifer got a much better look at her body. "And it isn't gonna go away by tonight!"

Lucifer was a bit surprised to see that her belly _had_ grown. But it was nothing to worry about. "You look beautiful," he told her. "How about we go out shopping and find you a nice dress and everything will be better?"

"No!" Ellie huffed. "Cause I can't wear dresses anymore! I can only wear fucking circus tents! And I can't go out in a circus tent!"

Hormones, Lucifer sighed and gritted his teeth. He thought that the intervention from his father would have curbed all of the pregnancy difficulties, but apparently, it only curbed most of them.

"All right," he conceded after reading the invitation, even though it would mean missing the comedy of seeing Maeve in a domestic setting. "For now we'll plan on staying home. But wait and see how you feel later. You might be more up to it just before it's time for us to leave."

"Maybe," Ellie nodded. "But if I don't feel like it, you'll stay home with me?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "And we can do whatever you want."

"Thanks," Ellie told him. "I know you hate missing out on a chance to party."

"Oh, it's no trouble," Lucifer took her face in his hands. "You're more fun by yourself than a whole party of people are put together."

Ellie smiled. "Well, when you put it that way, I might be able to find a dress for tonight. I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of my wonderful company!"

"No," Lucifer kissed her and pulled her close. "No, you certainly wouldn't." Then he helped her off the bed and they went to her closet to pick out the dress that she would wear to impress everyone at the dinner. It was a purple one that caught her eye. It showed off her shoulders and stopped at the knees so that her legs were visible. He helped her put it on and then they stood in front of the full-length mirror in the closet. "So...how do I look?" Ellie grinned. "Impressive?"

"Of course," Lucifer assured her, pleased to see that she was smiling again as they went to look for what he would wear. "You'll knock everyone dead."

"I bet," Ellie told him. "And I know you will too!"

* * *

Much to Lucifer's relief, it was Sarah who opened the door when he and Ellie arrived At Junior and Maeve's. "Hi!" He said as they made their way in. "So glad to see you!"

"We're glad to see you too," Sarah nodded and gave Ellie and then him, a hug. "Things seem to be better between the two of you. That's good."

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "We made up since the last time you and I talked, Mom."

This made Josh, who was standing nearby, tense up and glare at Lucifer. "What happened?" He asked through his teeth. "What did you do to her?"

"Calm down," Sarah warned. "This is supposed to be a nice evening and we don't want to ruin it with a fight."

"Oh, don't you tell me to calm down!" Josh stepped away. "I'll be mad all I want for my daughter's sake."

"There's nothing to be mad about," Ellie promised. "We just...it was nothing. I was not the problem."

"Look!" Sarah told Josh. "It's Hannah and Christopher! Why don't you go talk to them?"

"Oh, all right," Josh huffed, but didn't leave before giving Lucifer a warning that he had his eyes on him. After that, he went to talk to Hannah and Christopher.

"What's with the sour face?" Hannah questioned. "Is Ellie here with Lucifer or something?"

"Yes," Josh said through his teeth. "But I don't want to talk about that right now."

"Are you mad that she's pregnant?" Hannah asked.

"Hannah, when he says he doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't want to talk about it," Christopher warned. Then he grinned at Josh and reached out to shake his hand. "Lovely to see you, sir!"

"Nice to see you too, Christopher," Josh grinned back, and then, to the surprise of both himself and Christopher, gave him a hug.

"That's a surprise," Christopher remarked. "Does that mean you don't feel as strongly about me being with Hannah as you do about Ellie being with Lucifer?"

"Oh, not even close," Josh assured him. "I like you much more. Not that I really need assurance about this, but you're taking good care of my little girl, aren't you? Now that things are better between you two?"

"Yes, sir," Christopher nodded. "And it's always gonna be like that. It won't change. I love her very much, just like you do."

"What a good answer!" Josh grinned, moving the three of them toward the dining room. "Isn't that a good answer, Hannah?"

"Yeah," Hannah smiled and ruffled Christopher's hair before kissing his cheek. "I'm so lucky!"

Though he'd told Maeve that he would help her with the party, she seemed to enjoy ordering people about, so Junior finally decided to sit down with a drink and wait until she told him that she needed him to do something, rather than try to force himself into the situation. It was while he was sitting alone at the table that someone came to join him.

"Hi," Valerie said. "You mind if we sit?"

"Sure," Junior nodded and gestured at the empty seat beside him. Valerie smiled and sat down, then called for Dexter to come sit by her.

"Thanks for making sure I was invited," Valerie told him. "I don't think we know each other as well as I would like."

"Well, I really don't know your mother as well as I would like either," Junior replied with a smile. "It's not just you."

"You like Mom right?" Valerie questioned. "You like having her for a daughter?"

"Yeah," Junior nodded, keeping an eye on Ellie. "Of course. It was a bit overwhelming to suddenly be a parent and I...I handled it badly, but when I finally got my act together and got to know your mother, I realized that I loved her very much. You got a good mom. You're really lucky."

"Yeah," Valerie nodded. "That's what I think too." She gave Dexter a nudge. "She let me know it was okay to be in a relationship with this guy! He's awesome!"

Junior had heard enough about Dexter from Maeve that he didn't hesitate to smile. "Good for you," he told his granddaughter. "You made a good choice."

"Yeah," she grinned. "I know." Then she stood up and looked at Dexter. "You want a drink?"

"Yes, please," Dexter nodded. "But I don't care what. Can I trust you to surprise me?"

"Yes," Valerie nodded. "I won't pick anything gross for you, I promise." She met her father at the bar and said, "You know, Grandpa Junior is very supportive of my relationship with Dexter."

"I'm supportive of it too," Lucifer reminded her. "Just as long as I don't have to witness it. That's _still_ being supportive."

"I know, but can't you try a little harder?" Valerie begged. "Please?"

"Oh, all right," Lucifer nodded. "I'll come up with some big gesture to show my support."

"Good," Valerie grinned. "Thanks, I appreciate it."

Her father then excused himself to go bring her mother some lemonade. Valerie kept her eye on Ellie for a little bit to make sure she was having a good time, and to her relief, her mom seemed in much better spirits than she'd been earlier in the day. And not only that, she looked _wonderful,_ something that she didn't hesitate to mention to Ellie.

"Thanks!" Ellie exclaimed and gave a twirl. "I wondered at first, but your dad said it looked good and he's got good taste, so I didn't want to doubt him!"

* * *

After everyone was done with their drinks, they sat down at the table. Maeve had worked very hard on the seating chart, making sure that Lucifer sat far away from Josh and Junior and that she sat by Ellie, as a start.

The meal had several courses and Maeve worked hard to make sure that everything worked like clockwork. The soup was great, as was the steak, vegetables. Everyone was getting along and having a good time.

When the dessert came and everyone had their coffee to go with it, Junior stood up and asked to do a toast. Curious, Maeve waited to see what he would say.

"I want everyone to know that Maeve is entirely responsible for the good time we're having this evening," he said. "She wrote the invitations, she planned the menu...everything is going so well because of her, and that deserves a toast, don't you think?" He grinned at her then held out his cup. "To Maeve."

"To Maeve," the rest of the table repeated as Maeve blushed from her chair. "Thanks everyone," she got out. "I'm glad you're all having fun." Then she grinned at Junior and mouthed "Thank you" before they all dug into their wild berry cobbler and ice cream.

* * *

"That was some party, wasn't it?" Lucifer asked as he and Ellie stumbled through their bedroom door. "I'm amazed you made it all the way through without being exhausted."

"I'm amazed too, to tell you the truth," Ellie agreed. She kicked off her shoes and then went into the bathroom to change, coming out in a t-shirt and pajama pants. "All right," she announced. "Now I'm tired. Let's get to sleep."

"Oh, no, come on now," Lucifer shook his head. "We don't have to do that. Why don't you take that large t-shirt off?"

"No!" Ellie hugged the fabric to her body as the rush of good feeling she'd had at the party wore off and she began to feel self-conscious again. "You don't want to have sex with me! I told you I was fat today." She sighed and undressed. "See? You shouldn't be going after me when I look like this! You should be going after lithe, sexy women!"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "I don't want any other woman so come here. I want my beautiful wife!"

Ellie sighed and climbed into bed as he ran his hands over her body. "All right, do whatever you want. It's your choice."

"Yeah, it is," Lucifer nodded and kissed her belly. "It's my choice to make love to every gorgeous inch of you. You've never looked more beautiful to me." Then he gasped and grinned as he felt a kick. "See?" He told Ellie, who still looked doubtful. "Angelica agrees with me."

Ellie couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Well, if _Angelica_ says I'm not so bad, I guess I can't protest anymore, can I?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head and whispered in her ear. "You can't. It's not allowed." He then kissed her lips, her cheeks her earlobes, and every part of her body he could get his lips on before pleasuring her slowly but deftly with his tongue until she climaxed, then asked her to get on her knees.

He then removed everything else he wore (his shirt and shoes he'd removed at the door) and held on to her as he entered her from behind as she laughed and moaned. When he finished, he helped her roll carefully onto her back, grinned down at her, and then kissed her again before laying beside her and grinning. "You're beautiful," he told her.

"You think so?" Ellie grinned. "You're not just saying that, are you?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head and pulled her close. "I mean it every time I say it."

* * *

Elsewhere in the house, Vincent was not having as much luck with Lauren, who had hardly moved from her bed from the first night he'd brought her with him.

"You have to eat," he said. "You can't just not eat." He held out a blood bag and she pushed it out of his hand.

"That's not eating!" She cried. "That's drinking blood!" The thought of drinking blood terrified her. "I can't do it! I won't do it! I won't act like a monster!"

But her face belied what she was saying, and she wasn't fooling Vincent. She needed blood and she needed it now.

He cut his hand and offered it to her. "Maybe it'll be easier for you if it's not in a bag," he said.

Lauren shook her head for a few seconds and her lips pursed briefly before she grabbed his hand and began sucking up the blood. Immediately, she began to feel better.

"Good," she got out, her eyes turning red. "Good!"

"See?" Vincent asked and sat down next to her. He started to put his arm around her, but she pulled away. "Just because you helped me with my blood issue doesn't give you the right to put your hands all over me!" She exclaimed and hissed at him. "Leave now! Get out of my room!"

"All right," Vincent sighed. She was lucky that he was doing this out of love and not for selfish reasons. "If you need anything else, you know where I am."

"I probably need more of your blood," she said. "Can you leave some with me in a glass or something before you go?"

"Sure," Vincent sighed, zapping up a glass and filling it up with blood. "There you go. Enjoy. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Lauren told him. Then she sighed. She supposed she owed him a thank you at least.

"Thanks for the blood," she got out. "I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Vincent told her, feeling some warmth inside. "It's no trouble. Goodnight again." He left and shut the door behind him. She wasn't looking at him with love like she used to, but she thanked him, and that was a good start. It was better than nothing.


	71. All Kinds Of Surprises

Lauren finally managed to leave her room, but that didn't mean that things between her and Vincent were better. She treated him civilly, but it didn't escape Ellie's notice that her son was much kinder to Lauren than Lauren was to him, and she was torn about how to deal with it. Part of her just wanted to say that it was none of her business and stay out of it all, but another hated seeing Vincent so mistreated, especially when he'd saved Lauren's life and was being extremely kind.

Finally, when Lauren didn't show proper gratitude for Vincent bringing her some flowers, Ellie had had enough. "Honey, I think you and I need to talk," she told him later that day. "It seems like things aren't going so well between you and Lauren. She's not treating you like you deserve considering all you've done for her."

"It's okay, though," Vincent replied. "She's been through a lot. She's lost her parents. She's grieving. It's not my place to force her through it just because it would be more pleasant."

"No," Ellie shook her head. "That's not good enough. Just because she's grieving, it doesn't mean you deserve to be treated like garbage. You are not her servant, or her lap dog. Ask for the respect you deserve!"

"If I do that, she might hate me!" Vincent told her. "I'd prefer to not risk that and just wait it out instead."

"I stand up for myself in front of your dad all the time and he's never really hated me for it," Ellie reminded him. "What if your plan doesn't work?"

"What if it does?" Vincent asked.

Ellie sighed. Clearly, he'd made his choice, and there was no moving him. If he wouldn't stand up for himself against Lauren, if he wouldn't ask for the treatment he deserved, she would just have to do it for him.

* * *

She waited a little longer to see if Lauren's behavior improved and when it didn't, she asked Lauren to help her with the dishes after dinner that night.

"Sure," Lauren nodded. "No problem. I would love to."

As they washed and dried the dishes, that was when Ellie decided to say what had been on her mind. "I notice that things are still not going well between you and Vincent," she got out. "Why not? Give him a break. He's been so nice to you."

"See, I would," Lauren replied. "If it wasn't painfully apparent by the fact that he let my parents die before he brought me here, that that was what he wanted in the first place: to be a selish jerk who got exactly what made him happy, regardless of how I felt about it!"

Then she gasped as a shelf full of dishes went flying at her, ducking just in time to miss being hit by them so they hit the wall and shattered instead. "What the hell is wrong with you?" She cried. "I thought you were the normal one in this house, but are you crazy too?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. It felt nice to use her powers again, even if it was to break some of her best dishes. They could always be fixed later. She then pulled Lauren to her feet and held her fast so they were eye to eye. "I am when I see my son is being unfairly mistreated." She gave Lauren a shake and Lauren whimpered. Ellie's eyes were jet black now and she bared a set of fangs that looked sharp and painful. And if that wasn't bad enough, Ellie zapped a knife in her hand and brandished it right in Lauren's face. She let Lauren squirm for a little while and then cleared her throat once she thought the girl was good and frightened.

"Now, where were we?" She got out, then grinned. "Oh, yes. Now you listen, and you listen good! I realize this is a change and shock for you. I understand that. I do. But you need to stop being an ungrateful bitch and acknowledge just how much my son is doing for you. Be grateful! Say 'Thank you'. I don't know why that's so hard! Especially when Vincent didn't just save you and leave your parents to die. He _tried_ to save them first, but your father told him not to waste time since you could still be saved and they couldn't. He did all that for you and you treat him like _garbage_! Or worse yet, someone who just exists to please you and work hard for you and doesn't deserve anything in return cause you're just too good for that. Cause you feel that your pain and grief excuse you from being nice to other people. Well, it doesn't, okay!" Lauren then let out a cry as Ellie slashed her shoulder with the knife. Nothing fatal, of course. Just a very superficial wound. But at least it hurt. "I stuck up for you. I thought you were good for Vincent and that he would be good for you, but now you disgust me. Pack your bags and get the hell out of my house before I really make you hurt." She then threw Lauren on the ground as the woman burst into tears and ran for her bedroom. It wouldn't take much more convincing to do what Ellie asked. With people who behaved like that around, she didn't feel safe anyway.

Once Lauren was gone, Ellie was able to take a deep breath, drop the knife to the ground, and begin putting all the good dishes back in one piece before sending them to the cupboard and only pausing when she felt arms around her waist and lips against her ear.

"Well, that was a fun display," Lucifer whispered with his lips against her earlobe before giving it a nibble. "Having a bad day, darling, or did you realize I was watching you and want to make me all tingly?"

Ellie scoffed. "That wasn't my intention, of course, but..." she rubbed against him a little. "It _did_ do something to you, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did," Lucifer nodded, dangling handcuffs in front of Ellie's face. "Would you care for a repeat performance? If you put on something that's leather, I'll let you cuff me and tell me what a bad boy I've been."

Ellie nodded and kissed him, but then as she pulled away, a wave of regret washed over her. "Later," she told him. "I have to try and go make things up with Lauren first, if she'll let me."

"Why?" Lucifer groaned as she hurried away. "You were doing so well! Why ruin the momentum now?"

"I'll be done by the time you've undressed!" Ellie assured him.

Lucifer growled, his eyes going red for a second or two before he tried to calm himself down and he made his way to his and Ellie's bedroom. Her good morals kicked in at the most inconvenient times. It was _incredibl_ y irritating.

* * *

When Ellie reached Lauren's door, she waited a few seconds before knocking, knowing that it was not a guarantee she would be allowed in. But it wouldn't hurt to try. She knocked on the door and said in her calmest, most non-threatening voice, "Lauren, it's Ellie. Can we talk?"

"What else could you want to say to me?" Lauren called back. "I'm almost done packing my things and I'll be out of your hair soon."

Ellie opened the door then and Lauren tensed, her hands tightening on the suitcase as the other woman approached her. "What do you want?" She asked. "Please don't hurt me anymore. I'm sorry about your son!"

"I hope you are," Ellie nodded and sat down. "Cause...cause if you're not, you're really missing out on something good." She paused. "I'm really sorry for how I reacted before. I just...I tend to have bad reactions if I feel the people I love are being mistreated."

Lauren sighed. "Did you mean it when you said that Vincent tried to save my parents, but they told him not to?"

Ellie nodded. "That's what he told us. But he didn't want to mention it to you just yet because he thought it would upset you more. I'm sure he would have said something eventually." She took Lauren's hand. "I know it's hard for you to trust Vincent right now. I know that since you know he's the son of the devil and all, it's easy to just look at him and think that he's lying or being self-serving, but if I may play son-of-the-devil's advocate here, I think that if you let him go, you'll lose a good thing that you'll never be able to find again. Don't doubt him, please. He really, truly loves you. He just needs to know that you love him back. And it doesn't even have to be shown in a big way. A hug, a few words. Hell, I think just even a real smile would be enough. That's not hard, is it?"

"No," Lauren shook her head. "I suppose not."

"Good," Ellie grinned and gave her a brief hug. "You can start making things up to him when he gets back with your surprise."

"What surprise?" Lauren asked. "He's getting me a surprise?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I really think you'll like it. Why don't you stick around until he comes back. If you're still wanting to leave, you can tell him goodbye."

"All right," Lauren nodded, letting her suitcase go. "I guess I owe him that much, don't I?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded and stood up. "I hope you two make things up and you stay, though."

"Really?" Lauren asked. "Even though you were so mad at me before?"

"Really," Ellie nodded. "I rarely lose my temper like that and now that I've had time to reflect, I want you to stay. I promise."

She then remembered that her very aroused and naked husband was waiting for her in their bed and probably getting very impatient. She quickly zapped herself into something leather and made her way to her bedroom, coming face to face with a very naked Lucifer as she opened the door.

"What kept you?" He asked. "Did you get stuck talking to Lauren about _feelings?_ " He rolled his eyes. "That's always a trap for you, isn't it?"

"Oh, stop," Ellie told him, gagging him and pushing him against the wall so she could cuff him and then pushing him toward the bed. Then, when he was settled, she slipped off her panties and straddled him, running her nail down his cheek and leaving a trail of blood, which she gently licked with her tongue, shivers going down her as she ran her hands down his scruffy cheeks before riding him a little, then removing the gag.

"Tell me more about what I saw between you and Lauren," Lucifer requested as he reached around, pushed her dressed up a little and cupped her bare bottom. "What did she make you do to lose your temper like that?"

"Oh, nothing," Ellie shook her head and leaned forward to nibble on Lucifer's neck as he let out a moan. "Just...I just didn't like how she's been treating Vincent is all. But I think I made my point clear enough." She leaned back again and then rocked from side to side, grinning widely. "How are you feeling?" She asked. "Is that good?"

"Oh, yes," Lucifer nodded. "I know you're trying to change the subject, but just so you know, I'm never gonna forget the sight of you threatening someone with a knife."

"Oh, I know," Ellie sighed and kissed up his chest. "I know you'll never let me forget it and you'll always bring it up. I'm not surprised. It's what you do." Then they got her dress off so he could play with her breasts for a while before she climaxed and fell forward onto his chest and after he did too, he gently rolled over so now she was looking up at him, and he could pleasure her with his tongue once he'd gotten out of the cuffs and thrown them on the floor beside the bed.

* * *

Knowing that Vincent was coming with a surprise for her and curious what it was in spite of herself, Lauren decided delay her travel plans, push the suitcase under the bed, and wait for him.

And while she was waiting, the most curious thing happened: she saw her parents. First they were fuzzy, but then they became clearer until they seemed to be as solid as she was, even though that wasn't possible.

"How are you?" Her father asked. "Sorry we couldn't say goodbye to you."

"I'm better," Lauren told him. "I'm not dead, that's something, I guess. I wish I could have gone with you, though. You made it to heaven and here I am stuck with the devil and his family. I'm never gonna see you again, am I? I mean, we'll never be on the same-" she waved her hand, struggling to find the right word. "You know."

"Yes," her father nodded. "But this is what was supposed to happen. Everything is as it should be. You were meant to be saved from the fire and you were. I told Vincent to get you out and he did."

"Not that you would have had to at all," her mother reminded him. "If we hadn't been around, he would have sprinted straight for her without a second's hesitation because he loves her just that much. But he also knew that we were important to you. That's why we had to tell him to save you first. You had a chance to live. We wanted you to take it."

"His mom told me he did that," Lauren nodded. "I didn't know. I've been cruel to him because I didn't know."

"Well, now that you do, give him a break, all right?" Her mother hugged her. It was a strange sensation, making every inch of her body tingle. "If you tell us you will, then we can go and be in peace."

"I will," Lauren promised. "Thank you, Mom and Dad. I'm going to miss you, but I'm glad...I'm glad you went somewhere nice."

"Good luck, honey," her father smiled. Then they slowly disappeared just as her bedroom door opened. She turned to face the door and Vincent paused, a bag in his hand, when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Sorry," he apologizing, staying in the doorway. "Is this a bad time? I can come back later."

"No," Lauren shook her head. "Come in. I just...I saw my parents and they told me how you tried to save them before you saved me but they wouldn't let you. I didn't know. I just...I don't know what to say. Thank you. And I'm sorry I've been so cruel. It was really uncalled for."

"Thanks," Vincent grinned and hugged her. "I'm glad you feel better. How are your parents liking heaven?"

"They had no complaints," Lauren replied, grinning back. "But why would they?"

Vincent gave her a wink as he sat beside her on the bed and handed her a brown paper grocery bag full of stuff.

"What is this?" Lauren asked.

"I went to what was left of your house before it gets completely destroyed to see if I could find anything," Vincent explained. "You had so much taken away from you that I thought it might help to have a little bit of home back. I couldn't find much, but...I hope what I did is enough."

"Oh, I'm sure it will be," she replied and kissed him soundly before emptying the bag and bursting into tears as she saw her old teddy bear, a soccer trophy, her favorite childhood blanket, and two framed photographs: one of her and her parents, and one of her and her grandfather. All were in surprisingly immaculate condition for having gone through a fire.

"I fixed them all up," Vincent explained when she pointed this out. Nothing was in real good shape when I originally found it." He watched her set the stuff in its places and then asked, "Does this place feel more like home now than it did before?"

"Yes," Lauren nodded and hugged him. "Thank you, Vincent. Thank you so much for doing all this for me, especially when I've been so horrible to you."

"Oh, it's nothing, really," Vincent grinned and blushed.

"It's not nothing!" Lauren grinned and grabbed his face before pulling her hair down and shaking it out. "You wanna come help me wash my hair? I was gonna do it myself before I left, but...it's not as fun doing it on my own."

"Oh, of course," Vincent nodded, zapping up a comb and running it through her long blonde tresses. "You don't have to ask me twice."

* * *

"That's odd," Lucifer remarked to himself when he suddenly found himself in Ellie's office when he'd been sitting in his own before. He hadn't even remembered getting up, much less walking anywhere.

Then Ellie turned in her chair and gasped. "That is so weird!" She remarked when she saw him. "I was just about to call you and here you are!"

"I can't tell you how I got here, but...what can I do for you?" Lucifer questioned. "Is your back stiff? Do you need me to work on it for you?"

"No," Ellie grinned and leaned back in her new chair which was doing wonders for her back. "The chair has stopped that pain. I wanted to thank you for it!"

"You're welcome," Lucifer grinned. "I saw that something like that was good for back pain and I l thought, 'That would be so good for Eleanor'." He paused. "Not that I mind giving you massages. "I don't. Not a bit!"

"I know you don't," Ellie smiled and held out her hands so he could come pull her up. "And I appreciate that." He then pulled her close and kissed her. "Are you going to be wanting a nap later in the day?"

"Maybe," Ellie nodded. "Can I take it on your sofa?"

"Sure," He nodded. "No problem."

Later, after lunch, Ellie found herself in Lucifer's office and she was as surprised about it as he'd been earlier in hers.

"Well, look at that!" He remarked in surprise when he saw her. "I have to compliment you. Now you're getting to the point where you know I need you for something before I even say anything!"

"Oh, but I don't know how I know that!" Ellie protested. "I don't even remember needing to come in this direction!"

"That's exactly what happened to me this morning when you wanted to talk about the chair!" Lucifer remarked. "How strange."

"Anyway, since I'm here, what can I do you for?" Ellie questioned and sat on his desk.

"I know that you're already working Hell for me and doing quite a marvelous job, but...would you be able to come with me to talk to Astrid Fale at the Witches' Council?" Lucifer questioned.

"Sure, but you've been dealing with them for years," Ellie said. "Why would you need me?"

"They don't always trust me," Lucifer confessed. "Ours is a relationship of convenience. I keep the demons out of their hair and they look the other way when I make my deals and such. But now with the demons making families and things, they're a bit nervous."

"Ah," Ellie nodded. "I see. Okay, I'll come and sweet talk them for you."

"Thank you, my love," he kissed her. "You're the best!"

* * *

They didn't think much of their mysterious popping in an out until Ellie thought of a question for Lucifer while he was in the shower and she and Valerie were watching TV. Then Valerie let out a shocked scream as her father appeared naked and wet in front of the TV.

"What in the hell, Dad?!" Valerie cried. "Oh, my eyes! My eyes!"

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Lucifer reminded her, grabbing a pillow to cover himself up with. "I don't know what's going on, but that's it! It's one thing to move me around against my will when I'm fully clothed, but a man's shower time is private!" He looked at Ellie, who was really trying not to laugh. "We need to get to the bottom of this. What do you think is going on?"

"I thought about it," Ellie said when she finally could get a word out. "And it might, in a way, be my fault. Or more accurately, _Angelica's_ fault."

"Angelica's fault?" Lucifer repeated. "But she's not even born!"

"She's close to it," Ellie reminded him. "And remember what Louise told us about expecting a kid with lots of power? Plus, Mom says it's just natural for witch pregnancies to have weird power things going on anyway when mommy power and baby power mix."

"Well, how do you make her _stop_?" Lucifer demanded. His face was flushed deep pink now. It shouldn't surprise him that yet another of his offspring had a troublesome sense of humor. But with his father's influence, he hoped that wouldn't be the case. Then again, sometimes his father had a weird sense of humor too, so...

"I don't know," Ellie shrugged. "If she's connected to us in a way that allows her to tell when one of us wants the other and the zapping is her way of helping with that...I don't know. We'll figure it out, though."

"Now go back to your shower..." Valerie begged, her eyes still tightly closed. "Before I die of embarrassment!"

"Fine," Lucifer sighed. But first, he told Ellie not to think of him until further notice.

"All right," Ellie nodded, still struggling to hold in her laughter. "I'll try not to. Don't worry."

* * *

Feeling like she needed more of a life outside of the office, Ellie decided, once she'd left work the next day, that she would stop by the Underground. It'd been awhile since she'd been there and she thought she could use the pick me up it would give her.

When she walked through the door, she was nearly knocked over by a small boy in overalls who had spiky hair and a wide grin.

"Sorry about that, Ellie," Her aunt Selina apologized and grabbed the boy. "Sometimes I let him run around when the bar is less crowded to get out some of his energy. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Nope," Ellie shook her head. "I'm fine, Aunt Selina." She patted the little boy's head. "And just how are you today, Sammy?"

"Good," the little boy grinned. His parents did a lot of the live entertainment at the club, so he practically lived there and Ellie knew him well. "Sorry, Ellie."

"That's okay," Ellie said. "I'm just glad you didn't hurt yourself."

"Can I get you a drink or something?" Selina asked. "Sam's in rehearsal and Roxie and Vince went out to the store to get more alcohol. I basically have free run of the bar." She grinned.

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "An orange juice would be good. Do you watch Sammy often?"

"More than you would think," Selina nodded. "I like it though. It gives me something to do with myself."

Sammy then touched Ellie's belly. "Why are you fat?" He asked.

"She's gonna have a baby, Sammy," Selina told him.

"Oh," the little boy nodded and tried to climb up on a bar stool, but he wasn't tall enough, so Selina had to lift him up and set him down. Then she poured him some juice too, but it suddenly disappeared just before it reached his mouth. And it did that with every single glass Selina poured for him.

"Weird," Selina said. "I wonder what's going on?"

"I don't know," Ellie shook her head and pushed her glass toward the little boy, who was clearly very thirsty. "Here," she told him. "You can have mine." Then, Angelica began kicking, causing Ellie such pain for a few seconds that she thought she was gonna faint.

"Here, sit down," Selina told her and helped her to a chair. "Where does it hurt? How can I help?"

"My stomach," Ellie gritted her teeth. "Angelica's really kicking! If I black out, make sure I don't fall off the chair!"

Selina nodded, sat down next to her, and held her still until the pain finally went away and Ellie was able to open her eyes again.

"Well, that was terrible," She got out. "If that's what labor's gonna feel like, I hope I get to give birth while unconscious like I did while i was pregnant with the twins. Otherwise, it's not gonna be pretty!"

"Let me see if I can't get you that drink now," Selina remarked and went to get Ellie some water, which she drank quickly and then held out the glass for another.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, jumping off the bar stool and handing Ellie his favorite stuffed toy, a brown dog. "This will make you better!"

"Thank you, Sammy!" Ellie grinned and kissed his hair. "Thank you very much."

She felt another kick and then ruffled Sammy's spiky hair. "And Angelica says thank you too."

"You know," Selina remarked, "I always found that dancing around or just moving my body felt good when I was pregnant. Want me to put the radio on and see what comes up? Or put on some of the CDs? You probably don't move around a lot when you're working."

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "That would be fun!" She smiled at the little boy who reached for her hand as Selina helped her out of her chair. "Wanna dance with me?" She asked him.

"Yes," Sammy nodded and pulled her toward the dance floor. "I do."

* * *

She hung out at the club for a bit and then went home.

"There you are," Lucifer grinned. "I was about to call you and tell you to come home as soon as possible."

"Why?" Ellie asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No, you have to pack!" He told her with a wide grin. "I've decided to cash in another one of my unilateral decisions: We're going to take a family vacation to my ski cabin in Switzerland!"

"You have a ski cabin in Switzerland?" Ellie asked. "That's very surprising!"

"Why?" Lucifer shrugged. "I can like cold as well as hot."

"So when do we leave?" Ellie asked. "Right now? How much do I need to hurry with my packing?"

"Oh, no rush, I guess," Lucifer told her. "I just remembered that I promised Dexter and Valerie they could have the cabin to themselves for the weekend before we came up with Vincent and Lauren on Monday."

Ellie smiled and gave him a hug. "You did that for them?" She asked. "That's very sweet. I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah," Lucifer grinned and kissed her hair. "I know I'm nice. I'm pretty proud of me too."


	72. The Morningstar Family Vacation, Pt 1

Valerie was going to get a towel for her shower when Dexter popped out of the linen closet, pulled her inside, and kissed her soundly.

"Hi, there," he grinned.

"Hi," Valerie grinned back. "Is this real? Do we really have a romantic cabin in Switzerland to ourselves for three whole days?"

"Yep," Dexter nodded. "We do. Let's make the most of it!" He pulled her close and grabbed her bottom, his teeth grazing her neck.

Valerie giggled. "You know, I came looking for a towel cause I want to shower. You wanna do it with me?"

"Well, yeah," Dexter grinned, his fingers running through Valerie's hair. "That sounds wonderful."

Valerie opened the door. "Race you!" She smiled. "First one there gets to be scrubbed first!"

They ran toward the bathroom and Valerie let out a cry when Dexter, who was behind, grabbed her, picked her up, and carried her the rest of the bathroom and carried her the rest of the way there, setting her down on her feet in front of the shower.

"That's cheating, you know," she told him. "If we both get there at the same time, then who won?"

"I think we both did, if you ask me," Dexter shrugged and turned the shower on. Then they both undressed and Dexter motioned for Valerie to go in first.

"Fine," she told him. "As long as you look at my ass on the way in."

"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem," Dexter told her. "That's one of the things I can't look away from."

"Good," she smiled as he got in and closed the shower door behind them. They then stared at each other for a bit as Dexter got himself worked up.

"You want me to start?" Valerie asked and soaped up the loofah. "I think I should start."

He nodded and shut his eyes, waiting to feel the loofah against his skin, but was very surprised when he felt something entirely different. He opened his eyes and found Valerie on her knees and giving him a blowjob instead. It wasn't until after he climaxed and had to cling to her so that he wouldn't fall down that she finally began washing him. "What did you do that for?" He asked.

"I thought it would be a nice surprise," Valerie grinned. "And it was, wasn't it? Even through the water, I could tell you were enjoying yourself."

"Well, I won't say I wasn't, but you have to warn me when you're gonna do stuff like that," Dexter chided. "So-"

"Stop talking!" Valerie demanded. "You're ruining the mood! Would you stop being so... _you_ for two seconds and just do me until I can't move anymore?"

"I'm not a faucet!" Dexter snapped. "You can't turn me on and off at will!"

"Oh, I can't, can I?" Valerie shouted. "Yes I can!" Then she proceeded to touch herself in front of him. He tried to look away, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. He found her moans immensely arousing, and finally, just before he could tell she was about to climax, he grabbed her, slid his hands between her legs, and kissed her. She held him tight as she orgasmed and then, breathing heavily, they both stared at one another.

"What do you say we wash each other now?" He asked at last. "That's enough excitement for awhile."

"At least in the shower where we could hurt ourselves," Valerie nodded. "I agree with you."

* * *

After they got out of the shower, Valerie was surprised to find that everything was neat and clean and all her and Dexter's stuff was unpacked.

"How did that happen?" She asked. "Is it like that story where the elves make the shoes while the guy is sleeping?"

"Nah," Dexter shook his head. "It's just the staff." He paused. "Unless you wanted to clean up and unpack by yourself."

"Oh, no!" Valerie shook her head, retying the tie of her bathrobe. "We only have three days of peace before everyone shows up and ruins it. Why would I want to waste it _cleaning_?"

Dexter nodded. "Exactly." He let out a breath, realizing that he and Valerie had a whole large house to themselves (minus the employees, of course). That was something that had never happened before and he had no idea of what to do with himself. So he turned to Valerie. "What do you want to do now?" He asked. "Maybe I should call your dad and see if everything is okay-"

"Of course it's okay!" Valerie told him. "Dad's a grown man and a million years old. I'm sure he can take care of himself!"

"I meant I was going to call him about your mom," Dexter finished. "You know how close you are to having a sister."

"Yeah," Valerie grinned and rubbed her hands. "I'm gonna have so much fun with her!"

"Oh, dear," Dexter sighed. "That's terrifying." He paused. "Are you hungry? I could make something. Or have someone else make something."

"Or we could get take-out!" Valerie suggested. "Where's the nearest take-out place?"

"We're in a cabin in the middle of the outdoors," Dexter reminded her. "I think take-out will be kind of hard to come by."

"Well, then, I'm not really hungry," Valerie told him. "I'm cold. Why don't I make us a fire?"

"Do you know the right amount of power to use?" Dexter questioned. "We don't want to burn this place down."

"Of course, I'm not an idiot!" Valerie told him. "Give me more credit!"

Soon, much to Dexter's relief, they had a nice, warm fire going, just as snow began to fall. "I could make some tea or cocoa," he offered. "Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" Valerie grinned. "Then I can find a game for us to play."

"Let me guess," Dexter told her dryly. "Strip poker?"

"Actually I was thinking about Monopoly, you dirty boy!" Valerie giggled. "We can play strip poker later."

"Why did I even bring that up?" Dexter sighed as he headed to the kitchen to make the cocoa. "I'm just encouraging her. What's wrong with me?"

* * *

The rest of the day went smoothly as Valerie and Dexter had no trouble entertaining themselves. Valerie won strip poker quite handily (although Dexter was sure she had cheated somehow in her desire to see him be naked as soon as possible). They headed to bed and she rode him hard until they were both exhausted and snoring into their pillows while wrapped in each other's arms.

The next morning, Dexter got up before Valerie and made coffee and pancakes, then came back to the room around ten to open the curtains and wake her up, something she didn't respond well to, since the position of the curtains made the light spill directly onto her face.

"The light!" She hissed, covering her eyes. "It burns!" She hissed again, showing her pointed fangs, but that did nothing to Dexter.

"That was a fun little display," he told her. "Are you done? Your dad used to make that joke and I didn't laugh then, either."

"Oh, come on, why not?" Valerie sat up. "Please? I'm so funny! Close the curtains, leave the room and we'll do this again."

"Seriously?" Dexter asked. "You can't be serious."

Valerie gave him a look and he scoffed. "You are, oh, my gosh." But then, he told himself as he left the room after shutting the curtains, he had to remember whose kid she was. Sometimes, she was so even-keeled that it was easy to forget.

When he came back into the room and she did her hissing and shouting, he gave a flat chuckle and a small grin.

"I know you're just faking it to make me happy, but it's better than nothing." She told him and then sniffed. "Did you make breakfast? Thanks, I'm hungry!"

She seemed to turn back into her usual self as they ate. "You want to go outside and build a snowman or something?" She asked. "There seems to be a lot of white stuff on the ground."

"Sure," Dexter nodded. "You brought a coat and mittens and stuff, right?"

"Yes," Valerie nodded. "I did, I promise."

"Good," Dexter smiled. "I don't want you to get a chill." He wasn't sure if it was possible for that to happen to her or not, but he didn't want to take any chances. If Ellie was gonna go into labor or something during this trip, he didn't want to have to be worrying about Valerie too.

They finished their breakfast and then got dressed to go out and play in the snow, which, to Dexter's surprise, kept Valerie entertained until nightfall when she usually couldn't focus on anything for more than two seconds. It was miracle and boy was he glad for it.

* * *

Finally, they were ready to greet her family. Valerie even helped Dexter make them drinks and snacks.

Vincent and Lauren got there first and they all talked for a bit before they heard Lucifer shouting for them to open the door and open it quick. He and Ellie were much later than expected.

Hearing the panic in his voice, Dexter ran to open the door and found Lucifer holding a limp, sick Ellie.

"Oh, my," Dexter put a hand to his mouth. "What happened?"

"She didn't travel as well as we hoped," Lucifer sighed, motioning for everyone to get up off the sofa so he could lay Ellie down on it. "We were so late because she kept getting car sick."

"I'm gonna die!" Ellie cried weakly. "Kill me now!"

"Let's try and get her fluids!" Lauren suggested. Working with kids made her have to know all sorts of first aid stuff. "Tea, water, something with electrolytes...blood...anything! Oh, and some medicine to settle her stomach and end the nausea."

"Do you think she's gonna miscarry?" Vincent asked.

"No, not this late, I don't think," Dexter shook his head as Lucifer helped Ellie sit up and get liquids in her. "But...if she goes into labor while we're here, I won't be surprised." He stood up and gestured to Valerie. "In fact, let's you and I go set up a room? That's a good idea."

"All right," Valerie nodded as she reluctantly left her mother. "Let's do it."

They set up the room and then went to see Ellie, who was full of liquids and resting.

"That's a relief," Valerie sighed. "I honestly thought she was gonna die!"

"Well, if she made it through giving birth to to the two of you, I think this time around won't be a problem," Lucifer replied, sitting down between her and Vincent on the couch and turning the TV on while Lauren and Dexter went to make popcorn.

"Was it really bad when we were born?" Valerie questioned.

"Well, she was in so much pain that she passed out and didn't wake up until after Dexter and I pulled the two of you out of her," Lucifer replied. "Not to sound like a bad person, but here's hoping that same sort of thing happens again." He paused. "The passing out, I mean. Not her feeling terrible pain. Although I suppose you can't have one without the other, can you?" He sighed. "What an interesting start to our family vacation."

"Oh, I don't think it'll be so bad," Dexter told him. "Whatever happens, we can handle it." He looked at Valerie. "And you don't mind me having to help your mother, do you? I know I was mainly supposed to be here for you."

"No, of course you can help my mom!" Valerie nodded. "What sort of question is that?" Her voice rose as she spoke until Vincent put his hand over her mouth. "Shut up!" He snapped. "Don't be so loud! You're gonna wake Mom!"

"Oh," Valerie whispered, blushing a little. "Sorry."

"Let's just watch TV now," Lucifer suggested. "No one talks or anything."

And that's just what they did until Ellie decided to wake up.

* * *

After tea, medicine, and a nap, Ellie emerged looking much more lively than she had before. "Hi, everyone!" She waved as she entered the living room. "I'm much better now!"

"Oh, good!" Lucifer ran to hug her. "I'm so glad!" He picked her up and brought her back to the sofa. "Now, are you sure you're better?" He handed her a bowl of popcorn. "Why don't you try and eat some of that?"

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "All right. I'm fine, I could probably have something a bit more substantial."

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "Not now. Tomorrow, perhaps, if you don't throw up again. But not now."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Ellie cried and stood up. "I feel well enough to eat a sandwich, so damn it, I am going to eat a sandwich!"

"Dexter, I know you're not here in any official capacity, but could you please-?" Lucifer asked and pointed at Ellie.

"I think it would be better if you waited until tomorrow to eat something big," Dexter told her. "And I'm not just saying that because Lucifer told me to. Just to be safe, will you please wait?"

"Oh, all right," Ellie huffed. and put the bread back and the butter knife she held to spread mayonnaise back on the counter. "Because you said please, and weren't bossy like some people, I will wait until tomorrow." She grabbed some of Dexter and Valerie's snacks and ate them leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Hey, I watched things come out of you that I didn't even know could be in a person in amounts that were just awe-inspiring," Lucifer reminded her. "Excuse me if I just want to have a quiet night with no one getting sick anymore after that."

"Fine," Ellie sighed. "May I have some of the leftover popcorn, then, please?"

"Yes, you can," Lucifer told her. She sat down beside him and he put the bowl between them as Vincent put a movie on.

It was halfway through the movie that Ellie realized that her stomach was hurting her. Assuming it was cramps, she stood up and announced that she was gonna take a bath.

"I think you should go with her," Dexter told Lucifer. "You know, just in case Angelica decides to present herself to the world. We don't want Ellie to black out and drown."

"Oh, you two worry too much!" Ellie cried, although she winced and put a hand to her stomach. "Everything will be fine!" But she let Lucifer come into the bath with her, and for a bit, everything seemed fine. Then, as she leaned back against him, her head on his shoulder and his arms around her, her eyes closing, they popped open and she let out a terrible cry of agony, gripping the sides of the tub so hard that her nails broke and the rim of the tub had a dent in it.

Since she was doing one of the most accurate imitations of a damned soul he'd ever heard outside of Hell, Lucifer held onto her as hard as he could. "Do you want me to get Dexter?" He asked. "Is Angelica coming? How can I help?"

"Yes," Ellie gasped and then cried out again. "Oh, god it hurts, Lucifer! Make it stop!"

"Maybe we should get you out and get you to bed," he suggested.

"No," Ellie shook her head, speaking through gritted teeth. "There's not time. She's coming. Call for Dexter. Angelica wants out _now_."


	73. The Morningstar Family Vacation, Pt 2

Even though he knew exactly what Ellie needed of him, for once, Lucifer's composure momentarily deserted him as she kept screaming, until both Valerie and Vincent made their way to the bathroom.

"What's going on in here?" Valerie asked. "Why are you two screaming?" It didn't register for her right away that her mother was in labor. "If this is some weird sex thing the two of you are doing, can you _stop_?"

"Oh, how I wish I could," Ellie cried and gritted her teeth. "But I can't. Your sister wants out."

"Exactly," Lucifer nodded. "Valerie, your mum's in labor."

"Geez, you're in labor?" Valerie's eyes widened. "Sorry about that! I didn't know!"

"We forgive you," Lucifer told her quickly. "Just get Dexter!"

"Right," Valerie nodded. "Okay!" She ran to get Dexter and soon, they were both in the bathroom.

"I didn't come a minute too soon, did I?" He questioned when he saw Ellie in the tub. From the blood in the water, he assumed that Angelica was already crowining at least.

"Nope," Lucifer shook his head. "The water has run red with blood. Let's hope there aren't any frogs or deaths to the first born."

"Yeah, I hope that won't happen either!" Valerie replied and put a hand on Dexter's shoulder as he got on his knees in front of the tub to reach into the water as Ellie tried her best to relax. "That would be me!"

"Would you get a t-shirt for your mother?" Dexter requested of her, because he could see Ellie was shivering in the cold water. "We have to warm your mother up as your sister comes out."

"Sure," Valerie nodded. "No problem." She headed out of the bathroom to inform Lauren and Vincent, who had just come inside from haing a snowball fight, what was going on.

"Mom's in labor and Dexter wants me to get her a t-shirt," she explained. "I can handle that but I just didn't want you two to freak out."

"All right, thanks," Vincent replied. "I bet you want us to stay out of the way, so we will. But if there's anything we can do, let us know!" They stayed in the dining room as the kitchen staff plied them with food and Valerie zapped up a big red t-shirt to bring to Ellie.

Since her mother was in such pain and so tense, it was hard for her, Dexter, and Valerie to get the t-shirt on her, but with Lucifer's help, the finally did. Then after a wait of about another half an hour, Angelica finally surfaced as her mother collapsed on her father's shoulder.

As Ellie's muscles relaxed and her breathing steadied, Dexter, clutching a wet Angelica close against him, told Lucifer that it was all right to get Ellie out of the tub and tucked into bed.

Valerie offered to hold Angelica while Dexter and Lucifer got Ellie out and to her room and when she was tucked in and asleep, Angelica was washed off and put in a diaper and blanket and taken to her room.

"Could you and Valerie watch Angelica while I run out and do a few errands?" Lucifer requested.

"Sure," Dexter nodded. "What kind of errands? There aren't a lot of stores around here."

"Oh, that's right," Lucifer nodded. "I guess I'll just have to do it the quick way, then." He grinned and rubbed his hands. "Eleanor is gonna be so pleased when she wakes up!"

"Why?" Dexter asked nervously. "What are you gonna do?"

"Nothing bad," Lucifer promised. "Just pay her back for what happened. I mean, you heard her. Delivery wasn't a walk in the park this time either, and she wasn't even unconscious!"

"True," Dexter agreed. "I think you do owe her something for that."

"Of course I do," Lucifer nodded. "I can't wait to see the look on her face."

* * *

When Ellie woke up a few hours later, the first thing she did when she opened her eyes was gasp as she tried to sit up. Every available surface in her room was covered with balloons, flowers, and candy. "What in the...?" She whispered with a grin. "When did this happen?"

Lucifer grinned and shrugged. "Looks like some little birdie came while you were sleeping and decided that you deserved a lot of presents!"

"Well, yeah," Ellie nodded. "I mean, I don't consider myself to be a greedy person, but for crying out loud, after all that I just went through, I _do_ deserve presents, damn it!" She grinned and pulled his face down to hers so she could kiss him soundly. "Thank you," she said. "Thanks a lot."

"And you're not done yet," He grinned and handed her three boxes from Tiffany's that must have taken quite a drive to purchase, which held a necklace, bracelet, and earrings, all set with huge diamonds. "What do you think?"

"I love 'em," she told him. "Thank you." She paused and took a breath. "Not to sound ungrateful or greedy or whatever, but even after you gave me all this, I want to ask for one more thing, okay?"

"Sure," Lucifer nodded, climbing into bed next to her and taking her in his arms, his dark eyes concerned and his dark hair uncharacteristically rumpled. "What is it? You sound serious. Is something wrong?"

"No, no," Ellie shook her head. "But this is important. Now that Angelica is here, it's extra important that you watch me and make sure I have some fun every once in awhile, you know? Do something exotic or crazy or whatever, the sort of stuff you specialize in. Cause I don't want to get so sucked into being a mother that I forget how to be me, you know?"

"Oh, definitely," Lucifer nodded. "You know I can sense desires, don't you?"

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "I do."

"Well, that's what radiates from you the most," he said as he kissed her hand. "That need to engage in the extraordinary and not be trapped by your own tendency to care more about others than you do yourself. And I am completely prepared to make sure that doesn't happen, even if it's only once a week."

"Thanks," Ellie told him and gave him a kiss. "Even once a week is enough. It's a start, anyway. Then they both grinned as a knock on the door brought in Dexter and Angelica, who had a spray of dark hair on the top of her head, with Valerie, Lauren, and Vincent trailing behind.

"How are you?" Lauren asked her. "Are you ready for visitors since you're up?"

"Sure!" Ellie grinned and held out her arms for her daughter and then cuddled her gently just as Lucifer had while Ellie had slept. "Everyone come in! Why not?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Lucy and some of her staff were working on the design she and Lucifer had worked out for Angelica's nursery. When the lights were on, the walls would just be dark, but when you turned the lights off, you would see that they were covered in glowing pictures of constellations and planets. The mobile over the crib had planets on it as well.

"Did you suggest this?" Kai asked, apple in hand as he stood in the doorway, watching everyone work.

"I did," Lucy nodded. "Actually, we both thought it up together. I liked that he was agreeable to doing something a bit more intellectual."

"What did you _think_ he was gonna do?" Kai asked. "Have you paint naked lady pictures on the walls?"

"Well, I would hope not," Lucy replied. The thought had crossed her mind though. "Did you say you invited my brother over to hang out while Lucifer and Ellie were out of town?"

"Yeah," Kai nodded. "You need his help? Should I go get him?"

"Yes, please," Lucy nodded.

A short while later, Kai showed up with Lucy's older brother, Adrian. "What can I do for you?" He asked, and then gave her a grin. "Want me to take over this whole damn thing, kiddo?"

"Nah," Lucy smiled back and picked up her older brother's ever present Westie, Rusty. "I just need you to help move furniture for me since you're so big and strong. I'm a bit short-handed today." Her eyes narrowed. "And don't you call me 'Kiddo'."

"Oh, all right," Adrian ruffled Lucy's neat hair. "As long as I've got the muscles, I might as well use them."

"That's the right attitude!" Lucy smiled. "Thank you!" She watched her brother and Kai work together and easily get the furniture in place and then handed them brushes to help the painters paint.

"I don't know about this," Adrian looked at the paint brush skeptically when he was told he had to paint planets on the walls. That artsy stuff is more you and Dad's thing than mine. Aren't there like, toys I can put together or something? I'm sure they'd be glad to have that done, cause from what I remember with my own kids, it was a pain in the butt."

"I'm surprised you remember anything about your own kids' childhoods," Lucy commented.

"Lenora's and Liam's of course," Adrian nodded. "Felicity's isn't coming to me but we all know why that is."

"Yes, we do," Lucy sighed. His abandonment of Helene after the birth of their surprise second child had definitely _not_ been one of his proudest moments and when she'd heard the news, she'd considered never speaking to him again. Or at least waiting until he pulled himself together, which he did, even though it took years and the loss of countless innocent lives. "Anyway..." She went to the closet and pulled out a couple boxes with toys in them. "If you want to put toys together, here's a few. Will that be doable?"

"Yeah," Adrian nodded as Kai started on painting. "Of course. No problem at all."

"Thanks," Lucy told them. "I know you wanted to have fun when you came here and this doesn't exactly equal that, but it's a big help. I appreciate it."

"No problem," Adrian told her as he tried to stop Rusty from eating the pieces of the toys by sending him off to play with one of the other demons. "I'm happy to. It gives me something to do with myself."

Just then, one of the other demons who hadn't gone to Switzerland ran in the room, wide-eyed as he clutched the phone tight. "Good!" He breathed as he looked around. "You're making good progress. Cause Ellie had Angelica and they're gonna bring her home soon!"

"All right," Lucy nodded. "No problem. We can handle that." She looked at her helpers. "Can't we?"

They all assured her they would and then Lucy smiled and sent the demon on his way, but not before she took the phone from him and assured Ellie that everything was going smoothly.

"Good," Ellie told her. "Thanks, that's so great to hear! I just wanted to give you the heads-up so you could plan accordingly."

"Thanks," Lucy said. "I appreciate that. Who do you need to call next?"

"Oh, so many people!" Ellie exclaimed. "But I think next will be Maeve...and my dad. Yeah. Maeve and my dad. I'd call Mom and Josh first, but I think they said they were going out of town this weekend so they'll just have to wait and be told second."

"Well, congratulations," Lucy gushed, a departure from her usual subdued manner. "I'm very happy for you and I can't wait for you to meet Angelica and see what Lucifer and I have come up with for her nursery!"

"I know it's supposed to be a surprise, so I won't press for too much information, but...it's nothing scary, right?" Ellie questioned.

"It's not," Lucy promised her. "I really think you'll like it. I swear."

* * *

"She _what_?" Maeve yelled at Lucifer when he called to tell her and Junior that Ellie had given birth in Switzerland. "How could you just run off to Switzerland without me when something like that happened?"

"Well, we didn't know it was going to!" Lucifer replied. "And what with you not living with us anymore, I don't want to get in the way of your life! I just assumed that being away for so long was not something you wanted and I'm trying to be more attuned to the thoughts and feelings of others."

"Okay, let's clear this up," Maeve said. "I still want to know what's going on at your house and I want to be involved. Don't leave me out. Do you hear me?!"

"Yes, all right, Maeve," Lucifer sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Is she all right?" Maeve asked. "Is Ellie all right?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "She's fine. She got through it like a champ, but she didn't have the luxury of unconsciousness this time."

Just then, Junior came up behind Maeve and kissed her neck before whispering in her ear, "Who's on the phone?"

"It's Lucifer," Maeve replied as she put the phone on her shoulder. "Ellie had her baby. You're a grandfather again!" She handed him the phone. "Here you go. I'm gonna go spend some time in our room while you talk to her, okay?"

"Sure," Junior nodded, the word "Grandfather" not even registering because her remarks after that concerned him. "You've been kind of tired lately. Are you all right? Did planning that party wear you out?"

There was a long pause as Maeve put a hand to her stomach. "Yeah," she said, grateful for the excuse he'd given her because coming up with something else, or even just telling what could very well be the truth terrified her, one of the few things that ever had. "Exactly." Then sighed as she headed to the bathroom in her and Junior's bedroom and grabbed the box of pregnancy tests from its hiding place. She hadn't wanted to think about it, but that's what all her symptoms were leading her to believe, and Ellie giving birth made the worry pop up again. She peed on the stick and waited, really hoping because of her and Junior's thoughts about children. that it didn't say **Pregnant.**

It wasn't that she couldn't deal with it if it came along. It would be easy to. Better to do that then end up like Sarah, ditched and alone with a kid that Junior would never help her with at all. No. His original appeal to her was that he didn't care about that stuff, and he didn't expect her to, so why ruin a good thing? Why?

When she found out the pregnancy test was positive, she let out a cry like a wounded animal and sank down to her knees in front of the toilet. "Oh, damn," she whispered. "Oh, _damn!"_ She let herself cry until she couldn't do it any more and then grabbed her phone and locked the bathroom door behind her. She have to think about what to do next. If she couldn't tell Junior (and she knew she couldn't, at least not yet), there was only one other person who would understand and listen to her.

She punched in Ellie's number and waited for her to answer, which Ellie did, almost immediately. "Maeve?" She asked. "Hi! What's going on?"

"You seem happy to hear from me," Maeve replied, her voice full of relief. "I was afraid I would wake you up or something."

"Oh, no, I'm fine with that," Ellie assured her. "I actually just woke up from a nap. And I like talking to an adult. I already told Lucifer that we need to start thinking of dates to go on or people to see, cause if I don't get to have grown up dates or at least grown up conversation every once in awhile, I'm gonna go crazy."

"You know, I feel kind of the same," Maeve said. "I have something I need to get off my chest and if i don't tell someone, it's gonna drive _me_ nuts too."

"Oh?" Ellie asked. "What is it?"

"I'm pregnant," Maeve said in a quiet voice after casting a hunted look around the bathroom as if Junior would pop out of the bathroom wall and cry out that she'd gone against their 'no kids' vow and betrayed him. "I'm pregnant and I don't know what to tell your dad. I don't know if I should tell him at all. I know what happened when your mother got pregnant with you and I don't see the point of repeating that."

"So...so you don't want to keep the baby?" Ellie asked in a hushed voice. "Is this how you really feel, or is it just what you think Dad wants to hear?"

"No, no," Maeve assured Ellie. "I don't want to keep the kid either. In what universe would someone who tortures people and has lots of sex as hobbies be a good parent? I think that by getting rid of the kid, I'd be doing them a favor."

"Well, all right," Ellie replied, although her voice was disapproving. "It seems like you've made your decision. That's good."

"Do you not think I made the right choice?" Maeve asked.

"If you think it's the right choice to abort your child, then it's the right choice," Ellie said. "But I at least think you should tell Dad before you do it."

"Why? So he can tell me that what I'm doing is wrong?" Maeve scoffed. "If neither of us wants the kid, I think it'll just be easier for me to take care of it on my own and not bother him. No sense in both of us dwelling on something that's not even a problem."

There was a silence and then Ellie told her, "When I decided I was going to not raise the twins at first...I was very sure about that. I knew in my heart that I didn't want anything to do with them and that they would be better off with the parent who _did_ want them. But even then...it still did something to me emotionally. I still had stuff to process in my head, more than I expected. If you tell Dad, he can help you with that. You can get through it together, and it might make things easier. Not that you have to do that. In fact, you probably won't. I just...I just thought I'd mention it."

"Thanks," Maeve told her. "Thanks for listening to me."

"You're welcome," Ellie told her. "And good luck, Maeve."

"Thanks," Maeve told her. "Thanks a lot." She ended the call and then got to her feet, thinking about how to dispose of the pregnancy test so that Junior wouldn't find it and ask questions. Cause that was the last thing she needed: a conversation about this. Even though she was pretty sure Junior still didn't want kids, it would be just her luck for this to be the one time he did when she was very sure that she didn't.


	74. Maeve's Choice

The next day, Maeve was surprised when she woke up and saw Junior standing over her bed with a breakfast tray. "Hungry?" He asked. "I noticed you haven't been eating much lately. I thought it would be better for you to eat in bed today."

"And what if I don't want any?" Maeve asked, struggling to sit up as she narrowed her dark eyes at him. "Are you gonna force me to eat it?"

"No," Junior shook his head. "If you don't eat it, I will. I'm not wasting this." He waited and watched and finally, Maeve reached out and took the orange juice and an apple. She couldn't eat much. She already felt kind of ill in a way that had nothing to do with her pregnancy.

He watched her eat and then gave her a kiss after she announced she was full.

"That's okay," he told her. "I'm just glad you're eating. Are you sure you're okay? If you aren't, you can tell me. Do you know that?"

"Yeah," Maeve gave him a tight lipped smile. "I do." He gave her a grin and patted her leg before getting up to leave the room. For a moment, she thought that she might try to give the whole family thing a go, then reminded herself about Sarah, got dressed, and told Junior she had to go out and do something, but would be back soon.

But once she got into the car and was on the road, she lost her nerve again, and instead of going straight to the hospital, she drove to the park instead, sitting down on a bench by herself and staring down at her feet.

She was doing the right thing, she told herself. Would it be good to ask Junior before she did this? Or at least polite? Maybe. But she knew his answer, so why bother? It would save them both a lot of grief and misery, not to mention keep the poor kid of theirs from being treated like some sort of freak. This was the kinder option, for sure. She was doing everyone a favor by ending this pregnancy.

Sighing, she got up, and walked to the fountain in the middle of the park, made a wish that everything would be okay after all this mess was over, and threw a penny in. It was a silly human tradition and she doubted it would do her any good, but it couldn't hurt. Not when she needed hope so badly.

Taking a breath, she jogged to her car and tried again. She was going to drive to the hospital. She was gonna get this done. And then she wouldn't have to think about it anymore. It was a good thing.

Then she saw the paper poking out from under the seat. When she paused at a red light, she read it over and sighed. It was a list of tools and other things Junior needed to get things done around the house. Judging by the yellowed edges and coffee stains on it, he'd had the list for a while and hadn't done anything about it, so she might as well. It would give her more time to think. A wait of an hour or so wouldn't hurt. Nodding resolutely as the light changed to green, she went to the closest hardware store, list in hand.

She spent time browsing in the aisles, looking for what was on the list, even though she didn't know what half the things were and refusing any offers of help with a glare, which made the errand take much longer than it would have if Junior himself had gone, and by the time everything was loaded into her car and she was buckled in with her foot on the gas pedal, Maeve was as ready as she'd ever be to head to the hospital.

* * *

Ellie had been telling the truth when she'd promised Maeve that the information about her pregnancy would be kept between the two of them. Or she _meant_ to be telling the truth anyway. She'd at least kept it from Lucifer. But when a conversation with her dad Junior gave him the info he needed to zap himself to the ski cabin, she lost her resolve.

As she watched him cuddle with Angelica (another surprise, for sure) she was overcome with the thought that he should at least _know_ about his potential child with Maeve and as they sat in Angelica's make-shift nursery while she drifted off to sleep, Ellie blurted it out. "Maeve's pregnant. She didn't want to tell you because she knew you didn't want kids and I think she wants to get an abortion. I bet she'll do it soon and if you want to talk to her about it, you better run now."

Junior's jaw dropped. "What?" He asked. "Seriously? When did she tell you this?"

"She called yesterday," Ellie replied impatiently. "We talked about it. So are you gonna talk to her about this or what?"

"Of course," Junior nodded and gave Ellie a hug before zapping himself to the hospital, hoping he wasn't too late, but not counting on it.

"Did I hear your father come in?" Lucifer asked after he'd gone. "Why didn't he stop to say 'Hello'? Still not in much of a family mood, is he?"

"Actually, he had a good reason for leaving so suddenly," Ellie replied. "But it's nothing we need to get involved in." She paused. "And he's getting better with the family stuff. He and Angelica got along well."

"Why shouldn't we get involved?" Lucifer scoffed. "Why do you always insist on covering for him when, for the majority of your life, he made you miserable? Or at least made your _mother_ miserable. You were too young for it to truly have the same emotional effect, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I suppose I was. And since I had Josh to make up for the loss of him, that's another reason why I escaped from it all relatively unscathed."

"All right, so you won't tell me why he left," Lucifer sighed. "Does it have anything to do with you? Will you at least tell me that?"

"No," Ellie said confidently. "It has nothing to with me. I'm fine, we're good." She checked on Angelica and when she was sure her daughter was sound asleep, she took Lucifer's hand. "What do you want to do now?" She asked. "Angelica's asleep, so it's no use being in here again until she wakes up."

"True," Lucifer agreed. "Good point." They left and then, after asking Dexter to keep an ear open in case Angelica woke up earlier than expected (something he happily agreed to, much to Valerie's dismay cause it meant they would have to delay their skiing adventure), they left the cabin and headed out onto the porch.

"I bet it feels nice to walk around and get some air, doesn't it, Eleanor?" He asked her.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "It does." She grinned. "Snowball fight?"

"Sure, but I have to warn you that I'm going to win," he told her as they headed down the front steps. "I'm very good."

"We'll see," Ellie replied with a grin.

Lucifer then made the mistake of turning his back on her as he made his first couple of snowballs and soon he was being hit with so many at such a fast pace that he ended up face planting in the soft white stuff.

"How did you do that?" He asked, rolling over so he could stare up at Ellie, who was peering down at him with a grin. "You didn't just roll them up, did you?"

"No," Ellie scoffed. "Why would I do that by hand when I have magic?" She grinned. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," he told her. "But I want a rematch. No magic this time, you cheater."

"Well, you can hardly call it cheating when you didn't say before we started that I wasn't allowed to use magic at all," Ellie pointed out. "Admit it. You didn't!"

"Okay, from now on, no magic!"

"All right," Ellie sighed. "It won't be as much fun but I guess I'll agree to that." She paused. "I don't know why you're so cranky. I thought you _like_ me being sneaky, wicked, and underhanded."

"I do!" Lucifer replied. "Just not when you're being sneaky, wicked, and underhanded against _me!"_

"Oh!" Ellie nodded and made up her next snowball. "Okay. Why didn't I figure that out?"

* * *

They were both much wetter and colder when they got inside after the second round, and as they collapsed in chairs at the table and got out of their wet coats and boots, Lauren brought them hot chocolate.

"That oughta warm you up," she said. "So...who won?"

"I'm feeling generous so we'll call it a draw," Lucifer replied. "Even though Eleanor cheated the first time."

"I don't think I did," Ellie replied resolutely. "I still maintain that it would only count as cheating if you'd told me 'No magic' beforehand and I'd used it anyway, which _did not_ happen. And thank you for the cocoa."

"You used magic on Dad?" Vincent grinned. "Really?"

"Hit him with a bunch of magic snowballs," Ellie nodded. "Poor guy face planted right in the snow."

"All right, who wants fondue?" Lauren asked cause she noticed that a vein in Lucifer's forehead was beginning to throb. "We have both the cheese kind _and_ the chocolate kind."

"I'll take the chocolate kind, please," Ellie grinned into her cocoa.

"You want any, Dad?" Vincent asked Lucifer.

"Sure, whatever," Lucifer remarked, then watched as Ellie got up to go to the bathroom, then moved her chair as she went to sit on it so she landed on her butt on the floor. "There," he grinned. "Now we're even."

"I think that was uncalled for," Ellie said, wanting very badly to dump the whole fondue pot on his head.

"Oh, come on, Eleanor!" He grinned and gave her a spanking. "It was just a joke. Lighten up."

"Fine," Ellie sighed, realizing that since _technically_ she had started this, she should be the one to finish it. "Whatever."

* * *

When Junior got to the hospital, it took some arguing with the woman at the information desk to figure out where Maeve was. She wouldn't tell him because he wasn't her husband or her immediate family and those were the only people who were allowed to know what was happening at this point.

"That's not true!" Junior snapped. "How the hell do people get visitors around here if they don't know where the patients' rooms are?"

That made the woman change her tactic. "All right, there's no rule against me telling you," she admitted. "I just don't want to."

"Why not?" Junior questioned, getting right in her face. Her dark hair was pulled up in a bun and her dark eyes hid behind cat's-eye glasses. As she gave him a slick smile, the few wrinkles around her mouth showed.

"Because I don't like you," she said. "What did you do to that woman to make her think she had to come here and get rid of a child in the first place?"

"Don't yell at _me!_ " Junior defended himself. "I didn't even know she was doing this until just before I got here! We didn't even talk about it!"

"So you didn't want her pregnant for your own selfish ends?" The woman questioned.

"No!" Junior shook his head. "Not that it's any of your business and I hope you aren't this nosy and candid with everyone, but if I had to guess why she was doing this, it's because we've both been really open about the fact that we didn't want kids, at least not right now, so when she found out what happened, she just went ahead and did what she thought we both wanted." He paused. "That being said...tell me where she is. You want me to be there for her, you're chiding me for not being there, and when I want to, you make it difficult. Make up your mind, would you?"

"All right," the receptionist sighed. "Second floor, room 221."

"There now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Junior asked and then ran to the elevator, so he could find Maeve and sort this whole mess out.

It didn't take him long to reach Maeve's room and as he made his way inside, he saw that she was already dressed to leave.

"Should you really be out of bed?" He asked.

"They wanted to keep me overnight to make sure everything went okay, but I think it's unnecessary." She sighed. "I just want to go home, okay? I know you probably are mad at me, and have lots of questions, or probably even came to try and stop me from doing what I did, but it's over now. I'm not pregnant anymore, and I think that in time we'll see that that's what's better for both of us. At least right now."

"Yeah," Junior replied in a muted voice, his eyebrows knitted together. "Sure, whatever you say." He then followed her out of the room and the hospital to his car.

"Oh," she said as she opened the door to the passenger's seat and he took the wheel. "I found that list of stuff you needed from the hardware store and I got it all for you. It's in the trunk."

"Thanks," Junior told her and turned the key in the ignition. He'd play along with the fact that she'd pushed this aside for now. Or forever. "I appreciate it."

"No problem," Maeve said, keeping her eyes trained instead of looking at him as she spoke in a flat tone. "It was my pleasure."

* * *

After they got back from the hospital, Maeve locked herself in one of the spare bedrooms and didn't come out. Not that Junior would have asked her to. She clearly didn't feel like talking to him anymore. About anything, not even stuff he was entitled to know about.

After the sun went down, he made himself some soup and coffee to warm the knot of cold in his middle and then went to see Maeve. She was in the bed with the covers up to her chin and the track of tears down her face made it clear she'd been crying.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked. "Why did you come? I'm really surprised you still want to talk to me."

"Of course," He nodded and sat down beside her. "We definitely have some things to talk about. Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?"

"Ellie told me to when I mentioned it to her," Maeve confessed, sitting up and letting Junior take her in his arms and kiss her hair. "But I didn't because I thought you would freak out when I told you and you'd leave and I'd end up alone like Sarah." She chuckled. "I know sometimes I act like that's what I want more than anything in the world, but it really isn't."

Junior sighed. "I'm still not a natural parent," he told her. "But I'm a lot better than I used to be. If you would have said something, I would have been surprised, but I wouldn't have run. I would have talked to you. We would have talked about this. That's what I want to do. Don't ever run off on your own again, please. Not when you know I can help you. I love you too much to put you through something like that if I know I can do something to stop it." He then let her go for a moment to go to the bathroom and get her some tissues because she was crying again. He came back and found Maeve the demon looking back at him. Unlike Lucifer's servant demons, like Dexter, who were red-skinned, Maeve was actually a rare gray one who had stepped away from her kind to go work for him instead.

As Junior wiped the tears from her face, she asked, "Are you scared of me now? Are you glad you're not having kids with me?"

"I wouldn't have minded," he told her, looking at her and not blinking. "You don't scare me."

She grinned, and even though her eyes were red and she had horns protruding from the top of her head, it somehow looked beautiful to him. "Thank you," she got out and held out her gray hand. "If that's your attitude, there might be hope for us after all."


	75. Young And Hungry

"So you survived your first vacation with us all," Vincent told Lauren as they brushed their teeth a few nights after returning from ski cabin. "What does that mean for us? Something good, I hope."

"Well, yeah," Lauren agreed, taking the toothbrush out of her mouth and gesturing with it. "Do you honestly think I would have gone all the way to Switzerland with you if I still didn't trust you?"

"I wouldn't think so, but it's possible," Vincent shrugged. "I have a power that makes humans find me very alluring. It could have just been that working on you."

Lauren spat, washed out the sink, and then came to kiss him and slide her hand under his shirt. "Well, I _do_ find you very alluring," she admitted, then took his hand and kissed his fingers. "But not in a zombie way. In a real way." Then she grinned and led him out of the bathroom. "I'm ready to go to bed. Are you?"

"Yeah," Vincent chuckled and pulled her hair out of its tie. "I really think I am."

They made their way to bed and after pulling the covers over each other, they kissed for a bit. and then stared at one another with goofy grinns on their faces before stripping off their clothes and running their hands all over each other's bodies.

"Your hands are a bit cold," Lauren remarked. "That's unexpected."

"Oh, sorry," Vincent apologized, his hand pausing on her inner thigh.

"That's all right," Lauren told him. "I can fix it later. Keep doing what you're doing." She fell back onto the pillow as he slipped his hand between her legs and gave her a good rub and then buried his finger inside her while kissing her deeply.

She held his free hand tight, massing his palm with her thumb as she whispered his name over and over. Then she climaxed and gently began sucking on his finger, and he shut his eyes as his cock throbbed in response before he finally grabbed her, pulled her close, and buried himself inside her over and over again, reminding himself to slow down at one point because even though he'd zapped on two condoms, he didn't want them falling off.

Finally, they both finished and lay next to each other in bed. "So glad you're adjusting to living here," he said, moving some hair out of her eyes. "I'm sorry about all that's happened to you, losing your family and all."

"Actually, I have a confession to make," she told him. "I didn't lose _all_ my family in the fire. My sister, Toni, is still out there somewhere. She's somewhat older than me and ran off a few years ago. I have no idea where she is, or even if she's alive. She might be dead too, for all I know. But I hope not." She sighed. "Even if I knew where she was, I don't know if I'd tell her what happened to Mom and Dad. She was always fighting with them cause she wanted to go out and do sports and things when our parents thought it would be best for her to stay closer to home, marry, have a family, be safe. But she was too much of a free spirit for that."

Vincent took her in his arms and hugged her. "I hope you find her someday. I really do."

"Yeah," Lauren agreed and kissed his shoulder. "Me too."

* * *

"Christopher!" Sarah smiled when she opened the door to a knock and saw him standing on her front step. "Hi! Come in! What can I do for you?"

"Is Hannah home?" He asked. "I want to talk to her. I have a proposal."

"Oh, a proposal?" Sarah asked. "Really? Already? You just got on good terms with each other again and you're already thinking about jumping in with both feet?"

"No, not that kind of proposal," Christopher quickly assured her. "At least not yet. I think...I think, though, that it's about time we had a dinner for real with my parents. Do you think that's a good idea?"

"Yeah," Sarah nodded. "And yes, Hannah is here, so come on in!" She opened the door a bit wider and Christopher came in and sat on the sofa while Sarah went and got Hannah, who was in her room, trying on clothes from a recent shopping trip.

Finally, she came downstairs in a little red dress and Christopher grinned broadly, looking her over with appreciation. "You know, that will be perfect for when you and I have dinner with my parents," he remarked.

"Oh?" Hannah replied. "When are we having dinner with your parents?"

"Whenever you want," he shrugged. "I just think that since we're officially a couple now, we should. Don't you?" He paused. "We _are_ officially a couple now, right? No backing out?"

"Right," Hannah nodded. "No backing out." She took a few steps toward him and reached her hand out, running it down his navy blue button down shirt with red stripes. "This is nice. Is it new?"

"Yeah," Christopher grinned. "Vincent and Lucifer took me shopping the other day."

"Did they?" Hannah asked. "Well, you look very good!" She then sat next to him on the sofa and said, "You know what? All right. Let's have dinner with your parents. That sounds fine."

"Are you sure?" Christopher questioned. "I don't want to do it until you're absolutely ready."

"Yes," Hannah said firmly. "I'm ready to be a couple with you, I'm ready to have dinner with your parents...I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready!"

"Good," Christopher smiled, grabbing her and kissing her soundly right in front of her mother, a gesture which earned him a light slap. "Not in front of my mother!" Hannah rebuked him through her teeth.

"Oh, come on!" Sarah laughed. "I don't mind, really. I think it's nice! I can see why you'd be skittish about that stuff in front of your dad, but why me?"

"I don't know," Hannah shrugged. "It was just a reflex, I guess." She then turned back to Christopher. "Sorry. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," Christopher shook his head. "You barely touched me. I'm fine."

"Good," Hannah nodded. "So...when's this dinner we're having? I want to know how long I have to decide on a dress." She paused. "Or just go to Ellie's and steal one from her. Lucifer got her closets full and we're _practically_ the same size."

"Well, that can be up to you," Christopher told her as Sarah looked back and forth between them with a grin. "Do you want to just get it over with? Or we could wait. I don't care."

"Let's do it Saturday," Hannah told him and pulled him close. "I know that's only two days away, but that's fine with you, right?"

"Sure," Christopher nodded. "I mean, I still have to check with my parents, but I bet they won't mind."

"Good," Hannah nodded and grabbed his hand, pulling him to a corner out of her mother's vision and nibbling on his earlobe, which almost made him push her against the wall and take her right there. "I can't wait."

* * *

"I'm so glad you and Hannah finally got your act together and you decided to bring her here for dinner," Klaus remarked. "I was beginning to think you were ashamed of us, Christopher."

"Of course I'm not ashamed of you," Christopher replied. "And she was more the problem than I was."

"Well, since you like each other now, does it matter who the problem was?" Sybil asked. "Don't bring that up with her. I don't think she'll appreciate it and it'll just lead to another fight."

"I'm not gonna fight with her anymore," Christopher told his parents as he looked around their kitchen. "Where in the heck do you keep the spices?" He began rifling around and then had to lean back as Sybil made them fly out of the cupboard and onto the counter. "There you go," she said. "No need to waste time when I can just put them right where they need to be."

"She really doesn't like people messing with her kitchen and putting things where they don't go," Klaus informed his son. "I tried to move some things just for the sake of ease, but she got mad and put them right back!"

"I have a system," Sybil remarked. "And I don't think it needs changing." She watched husband and son cook for a bit and then looked at the clock. "Let me take over," she told Christopher. "Hannah will be here soon and you're not even dressed yet."

"Oh, she won't mind how he's dressed," Klaus told her. "He could be naked and I bet she'd be fine. In fact, maybe we should delay dinner a bit so they can have a workout first and get good and hungry just like last time."

"No, there's no need for that," Christopher told him and flushed deeply. "That's not gonna happen this time." He stepped away from the counter and said to Sybil, "I'm gonna go change. If Hannah comes early, and she might, would you get the door?"

"Sure," Sybil nodded as she watched her husband cook, just itching to take all the tools away from him and do everything herself.

* * *

By the time he was dressed in his buttoned down shirt and black jeans, Hannah had arrived with a bottle of wine and was sitting and talking to his parents in the living room with a drink in hand.

"Sorry we started plying her with alcohol," Klaus told him with a wink. "I know you wanna do that."

"No, I don't," Christopher assured her. "I really don't. I'm gonna behave myself tonight, I swear."

"Not the whole night, I hope," Hannah told him and then took sip of her drink. "Otherwise, I'll be very disappointed."

Klaus chuckled. "Oh, brilliant!" He said. "I like her. You have a real winner here."

"Yeah," Christopher grinned. "I do."

Klaus then poured him a glass of wine and when everyone's glasses were empty, they made their way to the table for dinner.

"Fajitas?" Hannah asked, grinning. She was secretly delighted. She'd thought they'd go with something a bit fancier, which she would have tolerated. But this was much better.

As they ate, Klaus continued his habit of saying embarrassing things. "So nice that you could have dinner with us here," he told Hannah. "Did you pick here because if you did it at your parents' house, it would be harder to get through the meal and keep your hands off each other?"

"Oh, no!" Hannah said without missing a beat. "I just haven't been here as often." She looked around the room. "If the rest of the house is as nice as the dining room, then you have a very nice house!"

"Thanks," Sybil replied. "It took us a while to redecorate and come up with something that would please us both, but I think the African inspiration really worked well. All the masks and things. They all mean something and Klaus remembers what each one is better than I do." She'd brought that up specifically because it was something he loved talking about and hopefully it would distract him from teasing poor Christopher about having sex with Hannah any longer. The poor boy had been through enough. No wonder he didn't come to visit more often.

Luckily for her, Klaus took the bait and the rest of the meal was spent talking about the various knickknacks around the house as well as some of the more exciting episodes from Klaus' many travels over the years.

Finally, the fajitas were gone and the dishes were cleared away.

"Are we having dessert?" Hannah asked.

"Yes, but I thought you and Christopher would enjoy eating that on your own on the deck," Sybil told her. "They just brought it out now."

"Yeah," Christopher nodded and took Hannah's hand. "I think I'd like that."

Leaving Klaus and Sybil (who were having dessert of their own in the dining room) behind, the younger pair headed to the deck where a tray containing several flavors of mini cheesecakes was set out underneath the stars.

"Looks like we got plain, chocolate, berry, turtle, and, vanilla bean," Christopher told Hannah, peering at the offerings as he pulled out her chair for her. "Which one do you want?"

"They all sound good," Hannah shrugged. "Surprise me."

So he gave her vanilla bean and they both took turns feeding each other cheesecake after that until the entire tray was empty and Hannah felt like she could hardly move. "Wow," she got out. "Part of me feels like I shouldn't have eaten that much."

"Oh, come on," Christopher told her and hugged her close. "You were enjoying yourself, so what does it matter?"

As he held her, the empty table behind her back caught his eye and he got an idea. He zapped in a radio, which began playing soft music. Then he and Hannah began swaying gently.

"This is nice," she told him, her face buried in his neck. "Was eating out on the deck your idea?"

"No," Christopher shook his head. "Mom probably thought we could use a break from Dad after dinner was over."

"Oh, he's not so bad," Hannah replied. "I think he's nice."

"You only get him in small doses," Christopher reminded her.

"So do you," Hannah remarked. "You don't even live with him."

"No, I sure don't," Christopher grinned and kissed her soundly before giving her a twirl and dipping her. "And I think...I think that's better for both of us."

* * *

It was after his return from Lucifer's house that Adrian had found his girlfriend Molly (who also happened to be Kai's daughter) packing her bags. She had been hoping to sneak out before he got back because it was a conversation she'd been dreading, but he'd caught her, making that not possible.

"When were you planning on telling me you wanted to leave?" Adrian asked her. "Or were you just gonna run off under cover of night?"

"The second one," Molly admitted. "I thought if we talked about it, it would make things awkward between you and my dad. And I don't want that, since making friends is difficult for you in the first place."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Adrian brushed this concern off. "If he still talked to me when he found out you and I were together, a little thing like us separating wouldn't throw off the friendship."

"Is it really a little thing, though?" Molly asked. "I know we haven't ever been mushy-romantic like because it's not how we are, but...we loved each other, right? Wouldn't you say that?"

"Yeah, sure," Adrian shrugged. "I guess." He was not good with his feelings. At all. Not showing them or identifying them or anything like that. "You don't think we do anymore?"

"I...I don't know," Molly shrugged, her green eyes troubled. "It just doesn't feel like it used to. Rusty shows me more affection than you do."

"Was this because I went to be with Kai and didn't tell you?" Adrian asked. "I'm sorry about that!"

"No, it's not that," Molly shook her head. "I was fine with that. I thought it was your way of showing that you felt like I did. I was obviously off the mark, though."

"No, you weren't," Adrian sighed. "If you wanna go, go ahead and go. I know my limitations and if you want more, you should go and get it."

"Yeah," Molly nodded. "Maybe I should." She paused. "And that's it. That's the end. We're over." She sighed. "All those years ended."

They sat in awkward silence, although there was a part of Adrian that told him he should be making more of an effort to stop her from leaving. He got up and came back with a pink rose he'd gotten from the back garden.

"I want you to have this," he told her. "To remember me by."

"Thanks," Molly took it and sniffed it. "It's very pretty."

"Would you like me to help you put your bags in the car?" He questioned.

"Sure," Molly nodded. "Would you mind doing that while I say 'Goodbye' to Rusty?"

"Yes, you should do that," Adrian nodded. "I really think he's gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss him too, but you and I are still gonna be friends, right? I can come and visit?"

"Sure," Adrian nodded. "If you want to."

"I do," Molly nodded. "Very much." She went to see the dog while Adrian loaded up her car, and then, just as Molly was about to get in and drive away, Adrian grabbed her and gave her a long kiss. "I'm gonna miss you," he told her. "I know you're not leaving forever, but...I'm still gonna miss you. Even having a friend around all the time is a step up for me."

"I know," Molly hugged him hard. "I know. But you're much better with people than you used to be. I'm sure you'll find someone soon who's even better for you than I am."

"I don't know about that, but I'll try," Adrian replied as Molly got in the car. "Bye, Molly."

"Bye, Adrian," Molly replied, waving to him out the window as she started the car. "And good luck."

He watched her drive away and once her car had disappeared, he went inside, grabbed Rusty, and called the only person he could in situations like this.

"Molly just moved out," he told Helene.

"Why?" Helene asked. "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything!" He cried. "That's why she left! And why do you just automatically assume that it's me who has the problem?"

"Cause I know you," Helene replied. "I've been there before, remember?"

"Oh, yeah?" Adrian asked. "You were a problem too, you control freak!"

"Did you call me to start a fight?" Helene shouted back. "Cause if you did, I'm hanging up right now! Geez, it's no wonder women run away from you! If Rusty wasn't a boy, you probably wouldn't even have had a dog as long as you've had!"

"Okay, okay, sorry," Adrian apologized. "I just...I swear I didn't call you to start a fight. I just...I'm alone in the house now, just me and Rusty."

There was a pause and Adrian thought Helene had just hung up on him until she asked, "And how do you feel about that? Do you want someone to come over and be with you? Why don't you call your mom? You didn't expect me to come over. Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I don't know," Adrian sighed. "Maybe it is. Maybe I'm crazy. I don't know. But face it. Aside from my mom, you're like, the closest female relationship I've had, even if things haven't always been good."

"Fine," Helene sighed. "I'll come over for a few hours. Maybe I'll bring dinner."

"Do you think Malachai will like that?" Adrian asked slyly. "What if it makes him think you and I are having an affair and he gets mad?"

"Oh, that won't happen," Helene assured him. "Malachai already knows how you and I ended up and knows he has no reason to be jealous. You want me over there by seven?"

"Sure," Adrian nodded. "And you're not gonna make this into something fancy, are you? Cause I'm not dressing for dinner in my own house."

"No, you don't have to dress up," Helene told him. "And I'll even let you pick the movie we watch while we eat."

"And you won't complain about it?" Adrian questioned. "Cause you know it won't be one of those fancy foreign snoozefests you like."

"I won't complain," Helene promised. "Just pick something and I'll view it as a way of expanding my horizons."

"Good," Adrian grinned. "Can't wait to see you."

"Me either," Helene replied.

* * *

The little girl hopped out of the large bed next to her crib (which she had decided was much too small) and used her magic to open the bedroom door and walk the few steps to reach her parents' bedroom next to it. The sun had just risen and as she opened the door with a wave of her hand, she saw that both her parents were still in bed. Giggling, she shook her head and ran over to her mother's vanity table and pushed the stool to her parents' bedside, climbing up and leaning over Lucifer, kissing him gently on the cheek.

"Oh, Eleanor," he whispered, still half asleep. "Are you really feeling like you wanna have a little fun?"

"Not Mommy!" The girl cried, feeling irritated. "It's me, Angelica, Daddy!"

That made Lucifer open his eyes, then sit up and look at the tiny girl with the wild dark hair and angry dark eyes in the purple nightgown who peered back at him.

"What happened to you?" He asked. "Didn't expect you to look like that."

"I'm big now!" Angelica grinned and began bouncing on the bed.

Lucifer sighed and looked at Ellie, who, somehow, was still sleeping soundly through all of this. That was fine. He could handle it. "Why don't you stop jumping and we'll go have breakfast, all right?"

"Okay!" Angelica nodded. "Can I have cake?"

"No, I don't think that's good for you," Lucifer replied, deciding to say what Eleanor would say. "We'll see what else we have in the kitchen." He told her to shut her eyes while he got dressed in more than boxer shorts and then he held her hand as they headed to the kitchen. He set her up with some sugary cereal in front of the TV, where they both sat until Ellie finally woke up.

"Well, well, look who's grown?" Ellie remarked when she saw her daughter. "Hi, Angelica."

"Hi, Mommy!" Angelica said. "Daddy wouldn't let me have cake for breakfast."

"I thought about it but then I realized that you probably wouldn't appreciate it so I refrained," Lucifer added.

"Well, thank you," Ellie remarked. "I'm shocked."

"When do I get my cake?" Angelica questioned.

* * *

She didn't get it until much later in the day when she saw her sister Valerie with a piece. She sneaked over and snatched it right out from under her sister's nose and began stuffing her face.

"Hey, that was mine!" Valerie cried and tried to take the plate away. "What is your problem, you little-" She then let out a shriek as Angelica bit her and ate the rest of it and then picked her sister up and went to tell their parents what had happened.

"She ate my cake!" Valerie complained as Lucifer and Ellie looked up from his desk. "And she bit me!"

"My cake!" Angelica proclaimed. "I wanted it!"

Valerie then frowned as Lucifer burst into laughter. "Oh, this is just marvelous!" He cried. "I can't believe you got into a fight with a three-year-old, Valerie."

"Well, I wasn't just gonna let cake go!" Valerie scowled. "Where should I put her in time out?"

"She doesn't need to be put in time out," Ellie replied and locked eyes with her youngest. "Angelica, if we want something from someone, we ask politely by saying please and thank you. We don't just take things because we want them."

"Really?" Angelica asked, pouting a little. "I'm bad?"

"No, you're not bad," Elligh sighed. "Just little. Now, tell your sister that you're sorry for stealing her cake."

"I'm sorry," Angelica apologized and reached for Valerie to give her sister a hug.

Valerie resentfully returned it and then they left the office.

Ellie then turned on Lucifer, who was still chortling to himself. "What was so funny about that? How can you encourage such behavior?"

"Well, you can't blame me for being relieved," Lucifer replied. "Between Dad telling you about her and her name, I thought she'd be so good she wouldn't fit in with the rest of us. It's really refreshing that's not something I have to worry about anymore."

"I hope it's just a stage she grows out of," Ellie sighed, wanting at least one kid with restraint and even a rudimentary grasp of morals. "I don't need a kid with wings and a halo, but I don't think a desire to help the world and a conscience is too much to ask."


	76. Keeping The Darkness At Bay

Though Lucifer was usually in a good mood, something suddenly happened to change him. He struggled to sleep at night, prowling the dark hallways and only going to bed when Ellie would get up, take him by the hand, and bring him back with her. He was in a bad mood with everyone at the office and wouldn't tell them why, and even Angelica's childlike antics couldn't make the dark cloud go away.

"We have to talk to him," Ellie told Dexter. "I've never seen him like this before. You know, he was all devil-faced at work yesterday. Refused to change back and even insisted on doing one of my errands to Hell. When he came back, it was the lightest I've seen him, but it didn't last long."

"I'll talk to him," Dexter promised. "He might be more open with me than he is with you."

"All right," Ellie sighed and lay back on Dexter's bed. "Although why he thinks he can't be honest with me when I'm his wife, I have no idea."

So Dexter went to see Lucifer, who had holed himself up in his office and was drinking whiskey straight from the bottle. "What's going on?" He asked. "What's with the bad mood all of a sudden?"

"Bad things are coming," said, his eyes wide as he got up and grabbed Dexter by the collar. "Bad things are coming, I can feel it. They've been disrupting my sleep. Dexter, what am I going to do?"

"Well, first, what do you mean by 'bad things are coming'?" Dexter questioned. "Is it that someone is gonna hurt Miss Ellie or the children? Maybe you should see about hiring more men. Having more eyes and hands on deck might make you feel more secure."

"It might," Lucifer nodded. Then he laughed. "You know, it's funny how in times like this, most humans put trust in my father? They say 'God will handle everything' and then they just feel better right away. Shame it doesn't work that way for me."

"Okay," Dexter sighed and tried to pull the bottle out of his hands. Cause once Lucifer got talking about his father, especially when he was drinking at the same time, it was hard to get him to focus on anything else, even important things. "Let's just take this away and get you sober and then we can work on finding more men to make everyone feel safe and hopefully end whatever's going on in your head, all right?"

"Fine," Lucifer nodded. "Whatever. Whatever you say, Dexter."

"Good," Dexter nodded and hauled him to his feet. "Can you make it to the bathroom on your own and go shower or do you need me to help you?"

"No, I can do it," Lucifer assured him, then took a few tottering steps before falling down as Dexter sighed. "I can do it. Don't worry about me."

* * *

To try and shake the horrible visions from his mind, even for just a few hours, Lucifer decided to get out of the house and go to the Underground later that day.

"I want to take Angelica with me," he told Ellie. "I promise I won't let her drink anything bad."

"Oh, I know you won't," Ellie nodded. "That might be a good idea, thanks. I can get some stuff done for work while you're gone. But if Sam has his son there, be careful. Sammy and Angelica don't get along very well."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating," Lucifer grinned. "Why would someone hate my Angelica?"

"All right, you can put them together, but I just...I really don't think it'll go well," Ellie shrugged. If he had his mind set on something, she sure wouldn't be able to stop him.

So Lucifer brought Angelica to the Underground and sure enough, one of the first people they ran into on their walk around the place was Sam Jr., who was hanging out while his father rehearsed a set. He was banging on the drums as usual, an activity that also caught Angelica's eye.

"Can I do it?" She asked him.

"No," Sammy shook his head. "Mine."

"Please?" Angelica pressed.

"No," Sammy shook his head again and pushed some maracas at her. "Use those."

"No!" Angelica shouted and gave him a push while trying to wrest the drumsticks from his grip. "I want those and I was polite so gimme!"

Soon, they were rolling around on the floor, biting, slapping, and scratching. Sammy clung to the drumsticks with all his might and it wasn't until they knocked the drum set over that their fathers finally pulled them apart.

"Sorry about that," Lucifer apologized to Sam. "I guess someone needs a timeout."

"Oh, that's all right," Sam told him and held tight to his son. "It's not like she's the only one to blame."

Then Sammy suddenly burst into tears and turned away from Angelica, burying his head in his father's shoulder. Since neither Lucifer nor Sam saw what was wrong, Lucifer turned Angelica around and gave her a look. She didn't look human. That explained it.

After a few seconds, Sammy looked at Angelica again. "You're ugly!" He told her.

That made Lucifer's jaw drop. "Hey, now!" He yelled. "That's not a way to talk to someone!"

But Angelica didn't need him to fight her battles for her. She got free of her father's grip and marched over to Sammy, pulling his hair. "Yeah, well you're stupid!"

Sammy reached out to pinch her, but she slapped his hand away.

"All right, all right, enough!" Lucifer cried and grabbed his daughter. His head was beginning to hurt. Maybe Eleanor had been right about bringing Angelica here all along. "Time to go home. I'm going to drop you off and then come back and have a big drink."

"Oh, I'm with you there!" Sam told him. "What do you want waiting for you when you come back?"

"Whiskey," Lucifer replied. "Thank you, Sam. Grab a full bottle."

* * *

He then brought Angelica out to the car and drove her home, where Ellie met them at the door with crossed arms and a smirk as she gazed upon her frazzled husband. "Back so soon?" She asked. "I told you that if you let her anywhere near Sammy, things wouldn't end well."

"How was I to know that boy was a little monster?" Lucifer asked. "The things he put poor Angelica through!"

"Yeah, Mommy!" Angelica agreed. "He's a bad boy! He wouldn't share his toys with me even though I was polite and I said 'Please'."

"Well, just because you say 'Please', that doesn't mean people have to do what you ask," Ellie told her as she took Angelica in her arms. "Sometimes you don't get what you want. It's a part of life."

"I don't like that," Angelica pouted. "It's bad!"

"Well, why don't we stop thinking about how mad Sammy makes you and I'll read you a story instead?" Ellie suggested. "That'll be fun, won't it?"

"Okay," Angelica agreed. "I like stories."

"I'm gonna go back to the club and have a drink with Sam," Lucifer told them. "I might be gone for some time."

"Good," Ellie replied. "I hope it helps ease your mind."

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Me too."

* * *

It didn't take long for Kai to find out about his friend Adrian's break up with Molly, so he and Victoria made a plan: she would try and comfort their daughter while Kai (of course) dealt with Adrian.

"Thanks for inviting me over," Adrian told Kai as they sat in the mansion's giant kitchen with bottles of beer. "It's good for me to get out of the house. It's too quiet there."

"But I thought you liked quiet," Kai pointed out. "I thought the main goal in your life was to make everyone understand that you just wanted to be left the hell alone."

"Well, sure," Adrian nodded. "But it...it feels different now. Just...lonely and there's this tension in the air that I don't like. It's hard to describe. Don't mind me." He chugged his beer and slammed the bottle back down on the counter before rooting around in the fridge for another one.

"How many of those are you gonna have?" Kai asked. "Should I make nachos? Don't forget to pace yourself!"

"Oh, I'll be fine," Adrian told him and cracked his second beer open. "Don't mind me."

Four bottles later, he finally realized he had to get up to go to the bathroom. And it was on his way back to the kitchen that he ran into Lucifer. Literally.

"Oh, sorry, man," he apologized. "Didn't see you."

"It's fine," Lucifer replied. Then he looked him over. "You seem familiar to me. He paused. "Wait. You're Lucy's brother! I've heard things about you! Why don't you and I have a chat?"

"A chat about what?" Adrian asked.

"I was just thinking that maybe I could offer you a job," Lucifer replied, putting a hand on his shoulder and guiding him down the hallway. "I'm a very generous employer. Just ask your sisters."

"Thanks, but," Adrian scoffed and moved Lucifer's hand. "Don't need to work. Never have, never will."

"Oh, I'm sure you don't," Lucifer agreed, grinning evilly. "But even if you don't need the money, shouldn't you do something with your time now that you don't have a woman to come home to? I was _so_ sorry to hear from Kai about you and Molly."

Adrian growled. "You just know everything, don't you?" He asked irritably.

"Of course," Lucifer nodded, brightening considerably. "This is my house. Nothing gets past me. Now, do we have a deal? Or do I need to call your mother and have her convince you?"

"You and my mother still talk?" Adrian asked in amazement. "I know that she made a deal with you to be Lonely Heart a million years ago, but what would you want with her now?"

"Well, nothing at the moment," Lucifer replied. "But whenever I help someone out, I like to keep the relationship going. It's good business."

"Fine," Adrian sighed. "I'll work for you if my sisters are. And you're not gonna let this go until I do what you want, right?"

"Of course," Lucifer nodded and grinned widely, walking with Adrian toward his office. "Resistance is futile. it's good you picked up on that early."

"As long as whatever you have me do doesn't involve watching children." Adrian shuddered. "That never ends well for me."

"I wouldn't do that to you," Lucifer shook his head. "How are you at fighting off evil by any means necessary?"

"I would say I'm all right," Adrian nodded. "Are you telling me that I'm gonna get to murder without hesitation?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "If it comes to that. Cause I have this terrible sense that something dark and evil is going to hurt my family and I can't have that. So of course I'm gonna need the people I hire to protect us to not have scruples about things like murder."

"I don't," Adrian grinned. "In fact, I enjoy it. It gives me a rush."

"Truly your mother's son then," Lucifer smiled. "And your father's too. You're hired. Welcome aboard."

* * *

In a lonely desert outpost, a young woman was aiming punches at a punching bag.

"How did I do?" She asked her trainer after sending the bag flying back and forth several times.

The woman smiled, her dark eyes shining. "Your strength has improved. That pleases me. You're doing much better. Now we can work on your reflexes."

Toni nodded and pushed some of her sweaty blonde hair out of her eyes. "Can I take a breather first? Get some water? Or even have a shower? We've been working nonstop for who knows how long and I'm...I'm only human!" She then let out a cry as her instructor brought a whip down on her arm.

"No!" She snapped, her almond shaped eyes narrowing. "You'll never be strong enough to defend yourself from the evils of the world if you don't work hard! Do you want to be hurt? Do you want to be killed?"

"I think I just _was_ hurt!" Toni remarked.

"Well, if you weren't so focused on how tired you are, we would be working on your reflexes right now and you would have been able to stop the whip," her trainer shamed. "Now have some water and get back here in five minutes. Don't be late. We have work to do."

Looking ruefully at the whip mark on her arm, Toni hurried away from the punching bag to get herself some water. She gulped it down so fast that it went down the wrong pipe and it took her some time to get her breath back.

"You were very nearly late!" Her instructor snapped when she returned and stretched out her arms. "What kept you?"

"I swallowed my water wrong and was choking!" Toni replied.

"Oh, god," the woman sighed. She'd grown up in Japan, but hadn't been back there in a while. "How are you going to stay alive if you can't even swallow right?"

"Are you capable of doing anything but insulting me?" Toni snapped. "How about some encouragement?"

"Oh, I encouraged you!" Her instructor shot back. "I praised your strength. Do I have to compliment every little thing? If I do, we won't get anywhere. You should be more grateful to me since I was the one who pulled you out of that gutter you were living in and actually put a roof over your head. I was very clear about what accepting my invitation to come train with me would be and you accepted. Now is not the time to be complaining about terms and conditions...unless you'd like to go back to being a gutter rat?"

"No, I wouldn't!" Toni replied through her teeth and gave the punching bag another whack. "Not at all!"

"Good," her instructor replied. So far, Toni only knew her as The Dragon, but she was positive that she had a real name too, even if she wouldn't tell her what it was.

They began working on Toni's reflexes, but it was clear that she wasn't focusing.

"All right," the Dragon snapped. "What's the matter with you?"

"I'm tired!" Toni replied. Her muscles ached and her head was throbbing. "I'm tired, I'm lonely, and I miss my family."

"I'm sure they don't miss you since you ran away like you did," The Dragon told her. "I'm the only family you've got now. Remember that."

"Sure," Toni sighed and then tried to make herself focus. "Sure, I will."


	77. Something To Do With Myself

As soon as Junior set off for work at the hospital, Maeve got a call from Lucifer. "Yes?" She asked, realizing that she could afford to answer more politely. "What can I do for you?"

"I've been having...forbodings, and when I told Dexter about them, he suggested I hire more security," Lucifer explained. "I've already gotten one, but I figure you should help him figure out who we need when it comes to the others. Would you be willing?"

"Sure," Maeve replied. "I've got nothing better to do today. Just a question though: who did you hire without me? I'm kind of scared to find out!"

"Get over here and you'll see," Lucifer replied.

So Maeve headed to his house and when she saw Adrian, she did a bit of a double take. "You know, you look a bit like the guy I live with," she said at last and shook his hand. "I'm Maeve, who are you?"

"He's your boyfriend's grandfather," Lucifer drawled as Maeve's jaw dropped. "Adrian, Maeve. Maeve, Adrian."

Maeve took the hand Adrian offered her and even just feeling the rough skin of his palm and his nails that were bitten...and looking into his eyes that seemed like they'd seen a lot more than his fresh face let on, she realized that she could work with him. For once, Lucifer had done something without her and hadn't screwed it up.

"You ever killed anyone before?" She asked. "Cause you might have to do that."

"Oh, I have," Adrian assured her. "I'm very good at it."

"All right," Maeve nodded at Lucifer. "Good job. He'll do."

"Wonderful!" Lucifer clapped his hands together once and grinned. "I'll just let you two do what you do best, shall I? You don't need me around to help with this, I assume?"

"Not really, but if something comes up, we'll call you," Maeve assured him.

Lucifer strode off then and Adrian looked at her. "Did I hear him say that you're dating my grandson?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Maeve questioned.

"Well, no, of course not," Adrian replied. "It's just not something I expected to hear is all. "

"Well, I didn't expect to run into Junior's grandfather when I came here so I guess everyone is getting a surprise today," Maeve said. "What caught Lucifer's eye about you? Did you make a deal with him?"

"Nah," Adrian shook his head. "I'm friends with Kai, and Lucifer knows my mom, and he threatened to tattle to her if I didn't come work for him, so..."

"Oh, geez," Maeve chuckled. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Adrian sighed. "It'll give me something to do. I need that right now."

"Well, it'll keep you occupied all right," Maeve assured him. "So much so that you'll be begging for free moments."

"Is that why you moved out?" Adrian questioned. "You needed the distance?"

"A little bit, yeah," Maeve nodded.

"So...what do we do now?" Adrian wanted to know. "Start thinking about who else to hire?"

"We could, if you really feel up to it," Maeve said. "Personally, I don't. I would much rather go out and have fun. The work will still be around tomorrow."

"Oh, that's an attitude I like much more," Adrian assured her. "What would you rather do instead? And please say that it would involve drinking."

"Yeah," Maeve grinned. "It would. Come on!"

* * *

They went to the Underground and Roxie nearly spit out what she was drinking when she saw her brother sit down at the bar.

"Did Lucifer threaten to tell Mom on you if you didn't work for him too, Champ?" Adrian asked his sister.

"No," Roxie replied and got out her brother's usual beer before he could ask for it. "He threatened to tattle on you to Mom if you didn't work for him? That's _hilarious_!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want and get it out of your system," Adrian told her. "And me and Molly broke up, by the way."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Roxie told him, the laughter turning off like a switch. "Are you okay? Are you going to be drinking a lot more than usual tonight?"

"No," Adrian shook his head. "I'm fine. It's all good."

"If you need to, you know I can drive you home," Maeve told him. "No problem there."

"Thanks, but that's okay," Adrian assured them and stood up. "You good at pool, Maeve?"

"Yeah," Maeve nodded. "I know my way around a pool cue. Are we playing for money?"

Adrian grinned, one side of his mouth up. "That could make it interesting," he replied.

"Great!" Maeve exclaimed. "Just let me get my drink and I'll be with you in a minute."

So Adrian, beer in hand, headed to the pool table, chalked up his cue, and picked the solid colored balls for himself. He liked Maeve. Not in a romantic way, of course. But she didn't irritate him. She didn't make him want to run away at the sight of her. That was a rare experience for him. And a good sign. Maybe working for Lucifer wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

Dexter was shocked one night to go into his room and find all his stuff gone. Roaming around the house, he growled in frustration when he found everything in Valerie's room.

"Why did you come into my room and move all my stuff without asking me?" He asked her irritably. "You can't just do that!"

"Well, I've come to a decision," Valerie explained, unperturbed. "I think that since we're in a relationship now, we need to start acting like it and what a better way to begin that process then having you move into my room?"

"No," Dexter shook his head, his breath picking up. He would probably start wheezing soon. "I can't. It's not right. None of what you just said is right."

"Do you want to be in a relationship with me or not?" Valerie asked. "Make up your mind!"

"My purpose is to work for your dad and make sure he doesn't do anything too insane, especially since he's not in Hell anymore," Dexter explained as he tried to stay calm while an angry Valerie advanced on him, her hands beginning to glow with fire magic. "I can't just give that up to be in the sort of relationship you want!"

"But you did before when you got your own apartment and worked at the burger place!" Valerie reminded him. "What changed?"

"I don't know," Dexter sighed. "Things just did, and you'll have to deal with it. You'll have to deal with the fact that just because I have to say 'How high' when your father says 'jump', I don't have to act the same way toward _you_!"

"Well, I don't want you to!" Valerie shouted. "That's stupid! I just want to be with you! Why do you act like that's such problem?"

"Cause maybe it is!" Dexter told her. "I'm a terrible multitasker. I know what my job is and I just...I don't know if I have enough of me to go around in terms of paying adequate attention to both you _and_ your father. In case you haven't noticed, you're both incredibly needy!"

"Yes, we're needy, but if you know that then why is it that Dad gets _two_ people to help his neediness and I don't get any?" Valerie pouted. "How is that fair?"

"Well, no one said life was fair," Dexter replied.

"So that's it then?" Valerie asked. "We're done? Even if I move your stuff back to your room and never bring up us being exclusive ever again, you don't want to have anything to do with me other than, you know, as your boss's kid? Can't you make some concession in your head and say it's okay to pay attention to me because Mom paying attention to Dad means less work for you?"

"I'm not sure that will work," Dexter replied.

"You could at least try!" Valerie said. "It's unhealthy to be so obsessed with work! And really, I don't think Dad will be mad at you. I mean, Maeve ran off and moved in with someone else and he still likes her."

"Maeve doesn't have the same purpose that I do," Dexter replied. "It's a lot easier to let go of someone who can keep you safe when you're practically invincible physically, but emotionally, your father needs all the help he can get!"

Valerie sighed and snapped her fingers, zapping all of Dexter's things back into his room. "There," she said. "Now all your stuff is in your room and I won't ask you to move into my room ever again."

"Now, I never said that," Dexter told her. "I just...I want to talk about things together before we decide them, okay? I know your dad's big on the 'take it when you want it' philosophy, but that's not how it works with me."

"So do you want to go talk to him and see just how much you and I can get away with before he freaks out and thinks you hate him?" Valerie asked. "It might ease your mind."

"Sure," Dexter nodded. "Okay." He paused and then said it. "Yeah. we should do that. Cause I'd really be missing out if we didn't."

"Miss out on what?" Valerie grinned. "The stuff you like about me? What _is_ that, by the way?"

Dexter just grinned back and shook his head, taking her in his arms. "You're pushy, you're bossy, you're childish...but you're also adorable and free-spirited and strong. I need that in my life. I know I do. I know I'm boring without it."

"You're not boring!" Valerie told him. "You're stable and dependable and sweet! That's good! If everyone in the world were like Dad and me do you know how screwed up the world would be?"

"Oh, I don't want to think about it," Dexter told her. "It's too terrifying!"

"Yeah!" Valerie nodded. "Exactly! We're just like Mom and Dad! You need me to make things more exciting for you and I need you to stabilize me. It's a whole great give and take thing!"

"Yeah," Dexter chuckled and kissed her cheek. "You're right, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"That's okay!" Valerie assured him. "And I'm sorry I moved your stuff without asking you. I hope we can do it for good someday."

"Yeah," Dexter nodded and grinned. "Me too. I would like that."

"You would?" Valerie asked. "You promise?"

"Yeah," Dexter nodded. "I do."

They made their way to Lucifer's office where, luckily, Lucifer and Ellie were going over some work things.

"Can we have a moment?" Dexter requested. "Please?"

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "What's going on?"

Dexter opened his mouth to speak, but Valerie locked eyes with him. "You mind if I handle this?" She asked.

"Fine," Dexter nodded and stepped back. "Go ahead. This should be interesting."

"Okay, Daddy, here's what's happening," Valerie told her father after taking her mother's spot in the chair on the other side of his desk while Dexter and Ellie watched with interest from the sofa. "I don't think it's fair that you have both Dexter _and_ Mom paying attention to you. I think you need to share. Dexter says he can't be committed to me until he's sure you won't feel neglected and stuff, so tell him that's the case."

"I don't like your tone," Lucifer told her, leaning forward as his eyes became red and narrowed. "Don't you speak to me that way."

"Oh, and what will you do to me if I keep doing it?" Valerie asked with smirk as the desk and walls began to shake. "Go ahead and do it! Do your worst, I don't care!"

"No, no, no!" Ellie finally said, sitting on the desk and blocking their view of each other. "That's enough! I don't think things need to go that far to deal with this."

" _He_ says that they do!" Valerie replied.

"She's trying to take what's mine!" Lucifer said. "Eleanor, she shouldn't be allowed to do that!"

"Dexter doesn't belong to you!" Ellie told him, even though technically she was wrong. "He helps you out, sure, and the world is a better place because of it, but...you don't _own_ him! And Valerie's right when she says that you shouldn't need to hold on so tight to _both_ of us."

"I won't abandon you to be with Valerie," Dexter reassured him. "She doesn't need me to care for her like you need me to."

"Yeah," Valerie nodded before Ellie could stop her. "I don't need a nanny. But I would _like_ a boyfriend."

"He's not my-" Lucifer began to reply indignantly.

"Never mind," Ellie cut him off. "Now, how about letting Valerie and Dexter date? Is that okay? Will you really be okay with it?"

"No, I'll never really be okay with it!" Lucifer snapped. "But since you're all ganging up on me, I can't do anything but agree, can I?"

"Well, why aren't you okay with it?" Dexter asked. "Talk to me."

"No, I can't," Lucifer shook his head, keeping his eyes down on the desk. "Not when the girls are here."

Valerie and Ellie looked at one another and then left the room. Once the door was shut behind them, Dexter said, "Okay, they're gone. Now, what's the deal?"

"You're gonna start liking Valerie better than me, aren't you?" Lucifer asked. "You're gonna see that it's easier and more fun to be with Valerie, so why leave that? Why devote your time to someone who doesn't know how to give in relationships and just takes and takes and takes?"

"You take a lot for sure, but it's because you need it!" Dexter told him. "Your parents were terrible with giving you what you needed and that's not your fault. I understand that about you. I do. You don't spend all the time we have together and not pick up on that. That's why I stick around: cause I know you need it. And Miss Ellie knows you need it. And you know what you give us back?"

"What?" Lucifer sighed.

"Excitement," Dexter told him. "A more interesting view of the world than we could ever give ourselves. Confidence, a purpose. All those things are good. If we thought you just took from us, we would let you know."

"So you won't just ditch me for Valerie?" Lucifer asked hopefully.

"No!" Dexter promised. "I won't!" He then gave him a hug, and finally, Lucifer told him, "All right, you can go out with Valerie without me worrying about it and causing you trouble. I swear."

"Good!" Dexter grinned. "Thank you!" He then ran out the office door, picked Valerie up, and spun her around. "So...where do you want to go?" He asked her. "Dinner?"

"Sure," Valerie nodded. "Where?"

They debated about that and finally decided just to get in the car and go buy shakes and burgers, then eat them in the car in the restaurant parking lot.

"I know this isn't fancy, but...I hope it's a good start," he told her as he took a gulp from his shake and took Valerie's hand with his free one.

"Oh, of course!" Valerie nodded and kissed him. "Any start where we're together and not worrying about Dad is totally a good start."

"I agree," Dexter nodded, putting his shake down, taking Valerie's face in his, and kissing her soundly.

* * *

The next day, a teenage Angelica came downstairs to breakfast with her hands full of binders and notebooks.

"What are all those?" Ellie asked, curious. Whenever the kids grew up, they had memories in their heads that only they knew about. Experiences they'd had, words of wisdom that had been imparted to them...she herself had memories that she was sure Josh and her mother had no idea about. "Plans to help humanity?"

"Oh, yes!" Angelica grinned. Her long dark hair was put up in a messy style with pencils sticking out the sides and under her white cardigan was a knee-length black and white plaid dress and white flats. As she spoke, her words tumbled from her mouth at an impressive pace. "I have so many projects to do! I'm thinking of asking Roxie at the night club if she'll help me with an Earth day fundraiser. Do you think she'd do it? Oh, and I need to make three batches of cookies and two batches of brownies for the bake sale and...oh!" She looked at her mother. "Any books we don't use? I heard from my friend that works at a literacy foundation that they need more books." She looked up at her family, who were all staring at her, open mouthed with shock. What had happened to her? Who in the word was this person?

"All right, fine, don't answer me!" She said and stomped her foot. "I can handle it all by myself. I'll start at the nightclub. They have to do what I say anyway!" She stomped out of the house, leaving the rest of her family staring at one another.

"What the hell was that?" Vincent finally got out. "Was that...was that _Angelica_?"

"Oh, of course it was Angelica!" Valerie told her brother. "Who else would it be, you idiot?"

"She's...she's a bit much, isn't she?" Vincent remarked. "I'm out of breath just listening to her talk."

"I wonder what made her be like that," Lucifer mused and then trained his eyes on Ellie. "What do you think you did to her?"

"Why do you think it was _me_?" Ellie asked.

"Well, none of _us_ would make her so uptight!" Lucifer said as he gestured at the other two kids. "We're fun!"

"And I'm not?" Ellie asked. "I can be fun!"

"Not without my help," Lucifer shot back.

"Yeah, well...okay," Ellie conceded. "You have a point." She sighed. "We'll have to talk to her when she gets back and see what's going on. Cause I can tell you right now that she has a whole life worth of memories in her head that none of us knows anything about."

"I wonder what hers are?" Valerie mused. "Probably not much different from ours. Ours are awesome!"

"Let's change the subject," Ellie suggested. "Anyone need more juice?"

* * *

It didn't take long for Angelica to arrive at the Underground. She breezed through the doors and strode up to the bar where Vince was standing. He raised an eyebrow as Angelica approached because she was dressed much nicer than the people who usually came in were.

"Hi," she said with a smile. "Is Roxie around? I want to talk to her about something."

"Sure," Vince nodded. "I'll go get her if you'll wait just a minute."

"Thanks," Angelica grinned. "I appreciate it."

It was as she waited that she caught the eye of a young man sitting at a nearby table. As he got to his feet to come talk to her, she saw that he was tall and had the nicest smile and the most beautiful eyes.

As he reached her and was about to say 'Hello', suddenly, she felt a strong push take her by surprise and she toppled to the floor with a cry. The way she fell made her skirt fly up in a very awkward way, and she could hear laughter ringing in her ears, which intensified as an annoyingly familiar little boy grinned at her. "I can see your _underpants!"_ He grinned.

"Oh, that's it!" She growled, getting up, her face deep red. It was him! He'd pushed her and humiliated her in front of the good-looking guy who was now doubled over with laughter. She straightened her skirt and let out a cry of irritation as she ran after Sam Junior, who seemed to think they were playing a game. But Angelica was _not_ in a playing mood.

"Come here, you little-!" She yelled and grabbed him as he let out a cry and began hitting her.

As people started to stare, she let him go, and after sitting at a table and taking a breath, she just off-handedly prayed. "Grandpa," she whispered. "Please make it so I'm never humiliated by another guy again. Make it so I don't have to look. That won't be hard, will it? To find my perfect guy and send him to me?"

Then she waited and looked around, thinking nothing of it when a very attractive young man came from the direction of the bathroom and grinned at her. He wasn't wearing any clothes and was met with gasps as he walked, but he didn't mind. When he spoke, his tone was impudent. "You might want to try wearing pants next time. For modesty's sake, you know." He then went on his way, pausing when Angelica said, "Sam? Is that you? How...? And how _dare_ you chide me for something that you know is not my fault when you...when you're..." She gestured wildly. "Like that! Tell me what happened!"

He shrugged. "I don't know! One minute I couldn't reach the counter and the next, I'm looking in the mirror and I see this," he gestured at himself. "Weird, huh? Act of God, maybe?"

"Oh, I hope not," Angelica replied, looking him over. "I'd say cover yourself up, but there's not much to cover, is there?" She grinned and got up close to him. "Tell me...is the 'Junior' part of your name a reference to your man parts?"

"My man parts are fine," he said. She was clearly trying to insult him because she was attracted to him and uncomfortable with it, hoping that he wouldn't notice her checking him out. "See?" He said as he put her hand where it would need to be to prove his point.

"Oh, you're _disgusting_!" She whispered angrily and pushed him away before zapping a blanket on his body and trying to calm her racing heart. He was a pig, but, she had to admit in spite of herself, an aesthetically pleasing pig. "And we're in public! Where's your sense of decorum?" She turned from him, her face heating up. It was just a coincidence that he showed up grown after she asked her grandfather for a favor. Yep, a total coincidence. She knew that her grandfather had a weird sense of humor sometimes, but he only messed around with bad people. Not good, decent, deserving people like her.

"Vince said you were looking for me?" Came Roxie's voice that nearly made her fall to her knees in relief. "Sorry it took me so long."

"That's okay," she grinned and gave Roxie a hug. "I just need to talk to you about hosting a benefit here. Can we talk in your office? Or any place that isn't here?"

"Sure," Roxie nodded. "Let's go. My name's Roxie, by the way. What's yours?"

"Oh, that's right!" Angelica remarked as they walked away. "It's me, Angelica Morningstar. I finally grew up!"

"Well, you look good," Roxie told her. "And we'll see what we can do for you."

"Thanks," Angelica grinned. "I appreciate it."

* * *

Although nothing was ever good enough for the Dragon, Toni finally got her to (grudgingly) agree to let her go out into the world. And she knew exactly where to go when she flagged down the bus.

When she'd said she missed home, she wasn't lying. The fight she and her parents had had before she'd left was terrible and being on her own had made her realize that maybe she should have learned to compromise a bit more. That maybe things weren't as bad as she'd thought. That might not be exactly what they wanted to hear, but it was as good as she could do and she hoped they would accept it. Or at least that Lauren would get them to see reason. She was good at that.

But much to her shock and horror, when she arrived at what she knew was her address, all she found was a pile of nothing. Stupefied, she grabbed the arm of a passing jogger and asked where her house had gone.

"There was a fire not too long ago," he told her. "Everyone in the house was killed. There was no way any of them could have survived unless there was a miracle or something. I don't know what your parents did to go through that much hell, but they angered someone up there."

Thinking that that just couldn't be right, Toni watched the jogger go and called Lauren, hoping the number she had was still her sister's and nearly cried when she heard Lauren say 'Hello'?

She opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. Her sister spoke again, and again, and finally just hung up.

She knew she should have said something, but couldn't be sure of how Lauren would react to the sound of her voice. True, she had always been more understanding about things than their parents had been, but still...who would forgive someone for just up and leaving them that easily?

* * *

Thinking that it might be easier if she saw her sister face to face, she began asking around and finally got a reluctant man to give him her sister's address by giving him all the money that she'd been given before leaving The Dragon's outpost.

"You don't want to go there, though," the man insisted, his eyes wide and frightened. "It's a dark, evil place. They already have one girl prisoner. Don't let them take you too."

"The girl they have is my sister," Toni told him. "Thanks for the advice, but I have to go. I have to avenge her and the rest of my family."

"Well, best of luck to you then," the man told her. "And heaven help you."

She nodded and got in her car, then drove to the address. Once she parked her car, she stared at the house in awe. It was _huge!_ It was glamorous! The man had said that her sister was being held captive, but...how would she get her out? Surely, someone so powerful and rich that they could live in a house this big would not be so easily beaten.

Toni swallowed and got out of the car, walking up the front steps and actually getting up the courage to knock on the door. But when it opened and she found a large, beady eyed, muscular man staring back at her, she lost her courage.

"Can I help you?" He asked in a gravelly voice. "What do you want?"

"Nothing." she got out as she saw him pull out a gun. "Sorry. I'm gonna go." There was lots of shouting as she made her way back to the car. Before she could reach it, she was grabbed from behind by three men, but the training from the Dragon made it easy for her to get free. After that, she got in her car and drove away, but they were still in pursuit, trying to shoot out her tires.

"What the hell is going on?" She whispered to herself. "I gotta get away from these people!" She stepped on the gas and sped up, not knowing where she was going, and not caring, as long as she got away alive.

* * *

Cursing her cowardice when it came to not going into her sister's address once she found it because the house was so damn intimidating, Toni strode up to the first bar she could find and made her way inside. She sat down, ordered the biggest drink she could get, and began drinking it, glaring at anyone who tried to get near her because she was most definitely in the mood to drink alone.

But she wasn't left in peace for very long, as, soon enough, a young man with very blue eyes, tousled blond hair, and just a hint of facial hair, who would have looked cute to her if she'd been in the mood for that sort of thing, came to sit next to her.

"Hey, baby," he got out, one side of his mouth going up in a grin that clearly said he was used to getting his way with women. "I just got the interior of my car redone. Wanna come see it?"

Toni scoffed and burst into laughter. "Really? Does that line ever work?"

"You'd be surprised," he smiled. "Did it work on you? Cause I really wish it would."

"Desperation's not attractive," Toni replied. Then she noticed the couple of twenties sticking out of the pocket of his jeans. She took them out and held them up. "But I'm sure if you're desperate for female company, these could get that for you for an hour or so. Just don't use that car line ever again. It makes you look pathetic." She then handed him the money and took her drink to another part of the bar, leaving Adrian alone and in shock.

"That was rough," the bartender told him with a smirk. "Want a drink to ease the pain of rejection?"

"I don't feel rejection," Adrian replied and sat down. "But I won't say 'No' to a drink." He went for a rum and Coke like his mother and as it was poured for him, he asked, "Who was that woman? What can you tell me about her?"

"Nothing much," the bartender shrugged. "She stumbled in here all of a sudden. Panting like crazy and looking terrified. She might have been running from something. That's usually how people end up here." He paused and pushed Adrian his drink. "Not everyone is like you and comes off the beaten path for fun."

"And I don't get why not," Adrian looked around. "This is a nice little place." He paused. "So...you're sure you didn't get her name? Or her license number?"

"No, she paid with cash," the bartender replied. "I'd give it up if I were you. You'll probably never see her again."

"Probably not," Adrian agreed. "What a shame, though. Even though she was dirty, she was actually kinda pretty."


	78. A Strange Practical Joke

After Angelica went on her way, Sam Jr. snatched up a table cloth to cover himself up with from one of the tables and ran to find his parents, who, needless to say, were shocked at the sight of him.

"What happened to you?" His father asked and looked him over. "Did you piss someone off to make them do it, Sammy?"

"Well, no!" Sammy defended himself. "I was just in the bathroom and all of a sudden I was grown up and naked. I think it was Angelica's fault! Did I mention how much I hate her?"

"Yes," Sam nodded at his son. "Many times. Interesting that your thoughts about her didn't change as you grew."

"Were you expecting them to?" Sammy asked indignantly. "She's such a _snob!_ She thinks that just because her father owns this club, she can do whatever she wants! It's so _annoying_!"

"Not to stop your expression of rage here," Leslie told him. "But...you're not wearing clothes, so we should probably drive you home and get you some."

"Wait a minute," Sam remarked as he got close enough to Sammy to measure. "I think we can put him in my extras until break time. He's pretty much the same size as me, it looks like."

"Good," Leslie nodded. "You go do that. And no picking fights with Angelica after."

"Oh, that's not gonna happen," Sammy grinned when he came out fully dressed, his blue eyes shining. "I think I scared her off."

"I hope you were diplomatic about it," his mother told him. "Your dad and I still have to work with her family, you know."

"You really think her dad would be that petty just because she and I had a spat and she felt bad?" Sammy asked.

Leslie and Sam looked at one another over his head and then said, "Yes" at the same time.

"Damn," Sammy sighed. "I just...I really didn't think so."

"Have we had your mom talk to him about Lucifer yet?" Leslie asked.

"Well obviously not!" Sam replied. "Cause he's only been big enough to have conversations about adult things for like an hour."

"Good point," Leslie nodded, playing with her blonde hair. "You make a good point. I didn't think of that. But now that he _is_ old enough, we should probably have her talk to him. I'll make a note of it, cause it's important." She actually did write a reminder and then stick it in the pocket of her jeans.

"I don't need to talk with Grandma about how bad Lucifer is and what a bad idea it is to piss him off!" Sammy told his mother. "I can behave myself!"

"You say that when you and Angelica aren't in proximity to each other, but I bet next time you see her, it'll be harder," Leslie said. "So we're still having you talk to your grandma. I don't care if you think it's a bad idea. Now, we should probably get back to work. I don't know what to tell you to do with yourself. How about you find Vince and try and make yourself useful?"

"Okay!" Sammy grinned. "You think he'll let me have a bottle of beer while I work?"

"No," Leslie shook her head. "And don't you ask him either. You know you're not old enough for that."

Sammy shrugged. "What does age matter when I can just compel bartenders to give me beer anyway?"

"He has a point," Sam told Leslie.

"Well, all right," Leslie sighed. "So you can get drinks easily, but I would hope for the sake of your health and your safety and my sanity that you won't."

"Fine," Sammy sighed. "I'll go help Vince and I won't ask him if I can take any beer from the case when we're unloading.

As he headed away, his mother called after him, "Thank you, sweetie! I appreciate it!" Before he disappeared down the stairs to the lowest level of the bar where all the extra alcohol was kept.

* * *

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here," Angelica told Lucifer as she ran inside the mansion and nearly knocked him down. "Something really weird just happened. I think it's another example of Grandpa's weird sense of humor, but I really hope it's a weirdly timed coincidence."

"Well, what is it?" Lucifer asked. "Don't start panicking until we have all the facts." He paused. "Did you not get your okay from Roxie about your fundraiser? Do I need to have a word with her?"

"No, that went fine," Angelica assured him and sat down. "She's not the problem! You know that really annoying kid Sammy who used to pick on me all the time? Well, I think Grandpa's playing a joke on me and Sammy's the instrument!"

"Why?" Lucifer asked, putting a hand on her arm. "What makes you say that?"

"Well," Angelica began babbling at a pace that made it hard for Lucifer to catch every word as she gesticulated wildly with her hands. "There was this guy I saw at the club while I was waiting to talk to Roxie and he was _so_ cute, but then Sammy knocked me over and ruined it, so in desperation that seems really stupid now, I prayed to Grandpa to send me my ideal guy so I wouldn't have to work so hard to look and not two seconds later, a naked teenage Sammy comes strolling out of the bathroom! And he's not like us where he spontaneously grows as far as I know. So it had to have been Grandpa. I should probably do something to apologize." She thought a moment and then asked. "Should I buy him some nice stuff? He usually dresses pretty badly."

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "That might work."

"I hope it does," Angelica sighed. "Not that I care whether or not he likes me, but it's just easier if I don't have to watch over my shoulder every five minutes to see whether he's playing a trick on me or plotting some other sort of vengeance."

"Now see, if that's a worry, all you have to do is talk to Maeve and she'll take care of him," Lucifer reminded her. "Your brother did it with Lauren's tormentors and he hasn't had any trouble with them since."

"I'm aware that that's an option, but it's really not the most mature way to deal with my problems," Angelica replied. "I can be polite and civil and charming and I think that those three things alone along with some bribery will get me what I want."

"All right," Lucifer replied doubtfully. "Your mother would be awfully proud of you."

"I know," Angelica nodded. "I know. I better go now if I'm gonna get him the good-sized wardrobe he needs. It's gonna take a long time to get everything it will take to make him look like a remotely civilized person."

"You want me to come with you?" Lucifer offered. "I think I know more about men's clothes than you do."

"That's a good point," Angelica agreed. "I'd love for you to come if you can spare a few hours."

"I can, as a matter of fact," Lucifer grinned. "And even if I wasn't certain, I would make time for you."

"Thanks," Angelica told him and gave him a hug. "I appreciate it."

* * *

So she and Lucifer went and bought him the clothes, but when she lay the bags at his feet, he didn't exactly accept it graciously. Instead, his responses made her glad she'd asked her father to stay in the car.

"What in the hell is all this?" He asked, looking at everything and then throwing it on the floor. "What makes you think I would want to wear hoity-toity stuff like that? I have my _own_ style!"

"Oh?" Angelica asked, raising an eyebrow. "And just what would you call it? 'Thrown in a trash can, shaken up a bit, and then dumped out'?"

"No!" Sammy shook his head and made a face. "It's too complex for such a person as yourself to understand."

Angelica scoffed, biting her lip as she restrained herself from sinking the heel of shoe into his foot. "That's what you say when you're wrong and don't want to admit it."

"Would you just shut up and go away?" Sammy asked, baring his teeth. "I don't want to talk to you anymore. It's bad enough that I have to see you at work with my parents, but I shouldn't have to see you at my home too!"

"It's not like you're a joy to behold either," Angelica replied. Then she looked him over. The stains on his shirt made it very obvious what he'd had for lunch that day. "So...is the turkey club any good? Judging from the amount of mustard and bits of meat you have stuck to your shirt, you must've liked it."

"It was fine," He told her. "You gonna have one tomorrow?"

"Maybe," Angelica shrugged. "Or maybe not. I don't know." She started to walk away but didn't get far before he stuck out his leg and tripped her, making her land on her face and be glad she was wearing pants this time. "What did you do that for?" She asked, frowning at him.

"I don't know," he chuckled. "Just thought I could use a laugh."

As she got to her feet and watched him stride away, she let out a growl and cast a spell that made his pants fall down around his ankles. She hoped that it would make him fall just like she had, but unfortunately, he kept his balance despite a stumble. That was disappointing, but she had a consolation prize: the knowledge that he wore boxer shorts with smiling cartoon rabbits on them.

"Wanna explain the bunnies on your boxers?" She asked with a smirk and a chuckle.

"No," Sammy replied. "Not unless you let me have a look at _your_ underwear, and I think you and I both know that's not gonna happen."

"You're damn right it's not!" Angelica scoffed. "You're damn right!" Then her eyes caught her father coming up the front steps toward the door, presumably to rescue her from whatever horrible stuff he felt Sammy was doing to her. "Not that I wouldn't _love_ to continue this conversation and kick your ass as far away as it deserves to be kicked, but if I don't go now, bad things will happen to you. So...bye!"

"You don't want bad things to happen to me?" Sammy asked in surprise, even as he bunched everything up and put it back in the bags to throw out after her when she finally left.

"Only as bad as you deserve," Angelica clarified and pulled the door open. "And even _you_ don't deserve to be tortured by my dad when he's in a bad mood. You're welcome!"

"Oh, are we leaving?" Lucifer asked as he followed her down the front steps of Sammy's house. "What a shame. I was just about to have a word with that boy."

"It's very sweet, Daddy, but I don't need you to fight my battles for me," she told him. "I can do it on my own."

"Oh, I know," he said and gave her an adoring look. "But I can be so much more thorough than you!"

"This is not a situation that calls for being thorough!" Angelica rebuked her father, even as she watched Sam throw the bags out and stick his tongue out at her. She knew he would have been even more impolite if her father wasn't looking. "Sure, he's a pain in the ass, but it's not like he _murdered_ anyone. When he murders someone or something like that, _then_ you can be thorough."

"I can't believe he didn't like the clothes!" Lucifer fumed and picked up the bags.

"I knew he wasn't going to, but I can always zap them back into his house later." Angelica said as they pulled out of the driveway and headed back toward home after putting the clothes in the backseat. "His mother will probably be pleased he'll have things he can wear someplace nice."

"Or anywhere at all," Lucifer added. "Dressing nicely should not be just for upscale dining establishments."

"I know," Angelica agreed and put a hand on his arm. "You're right, but unfortunately, not everyone has your class, Daddy."

"You're too kind," Lucifer remarked and made a turn. "Are you meeting your friends at the movies tonight? What masterpiece of horror are you going to see? I can drop you off."

"Sure," Angelica nodded and zapped herself into a neat pair of jeans and a purple short-sleeved blouse under a black leather jacket. "There. Much more comfortable for a night out. As for what we're going to see, I don't know. It's always something we decide right before we go in." She paused. "They've all been wanting to do _The Omen_ and/or _Rosemary's Baby_ for quite some time. I always find some way to distract them and tell them we can see it next time, but I don't know how much longer I can swing that. Cause you and I both know that my seeing either of those movies will not end well."

"No, I shouldn't think it would," Lucifer shook his head. "I mean. your sister and brother saw them both and thought they were hilarious, but I sense you'd take it all much more to heart."

"Which is really silly, I know," Angelica agreed. "But I just...it's terrible, isn't it? And why is the Devil's kid always a _boy_ in those movies? I mean, if one of the three of us was gonna bring chaos and destruction to the world, do you honestly think _Vincent_ would be the most likely one?"

"No, not unless he was saving Lauren from harm, which is not the vibe of the movies," Lucifer mused as he gently drummed on the steering wheel. "Your sister might do it...unless she knows it'll make Dexter unhappy. I don't know how much he can effect her moods yet. But you...you're unattached, you're proud..you can be angry. I could see you causing some real trouble if the right reasons to presented themselves."

"Exactly!" Angelica nodded, her brown eyes wide and a strand of her dark hair stuck to the side of her face. "Not that I would, but theoretically, I could if I wanted to!"

"Right," Lucifer nodded. "Exactly. Of course you could." They drove up to the front of the theater where Angelica's friends were waiting and she breathed a sigh of relief as, for the first time in weeks, no one mentioned _The Omen_ or _Rosemary's Baby._ They weren't even showing that night. Instead, it was _The Exorcist_. which Angelica always found amusing. It was even _more_ amusing how her friends stared at her when she laughed at the parts that weren't even supposed to be funny. But how could they not be? She asked herself as they headed inside to get tickets and candy and popcorn. To her, how could they not be?


	79. Catching A Familar Intruder

It took some time, but finally, Toni found her way back to Lucifer's mansion. Not wanting to run into the front door guard or any other guard because there was a chance she could be overpowered despite all the Dragon had taught her. And because she was coming to this place to save Lauren, that was something that she couldn't risk happening.

Clad in black from head to toe with only her eyes exposed, she stood across from the mansion and stared at it while she got up the nerve to go inside.

Finally, she took off at a run and began circling the house to find a window to get into, because of course no one would be guarding the windows. She found one and then scaled the side of the house to get to it, but when she reached it, getting in wasn't easy. It felt like it had been glued shut.

Taking a breath, she punched the glass several times and dropped into the room the window was part of, hoping it was her sister's room. But, to her frustration, the first voice she heard in the dark was male as two strong arms grabbed her. "Hey," he whispered. "Just who the hell are you?"

She struggled for a bit and didn't say a word, but she couldn't get free cause he held her tight and was very strong. She couldn't let him know she was a woman. His ignorance of that fact was something she could use to her advantage.

"Answer me!" He cried. But she still said nothing and he gave her a shake while dragging her away from the window.

As she felt his hands move to cup her breasts, she gave him a slap and he dropped her hard on her stomach. As she got her breath and rolled onto her back, she got a good look at her assailant's hulking shape in the dark. He was large and strong and would probably have been intimidating to the average person, but she had been trained by the Dragon, who prepared her for events such as this. She feared nothing.

Taking a deep breath, she began kicking the man and he was so shocked that as strong as he was and as big as he was, he didn't fight back. Or at least he didn't fight back as well as he probably would have if she were the sort of assailant he was expecting.

Several roundhouse kicks and right hooks later, he was on the ground and struggling to breathe. Then she whacked him with something large and heavy that she found and when he was unconscious, that gave her some time to decide whether to leave or continue to look for her sister.

Finally, she decided to leave and try again later when she had a clearer plan of attack in mind, or at least a better idea of where Lauren was so she could get in and out before running into another clown like him (or several) who could very well injure her and her sister.

She cast her assailant a long look, then jumped out the window to head back to her hotel and get a good night's rest.

And thankfully for Adrian, it wasn't long before Kai came by to see if he wanted to share a snack and a drink with him and found him just as he was coming to again.

"What happened?" He asked as the lights came on and he rubbed the large bump on his head. "Where's the person who beat me up?"

"Someone beat you up?" Kai asked and looked him over in the brief second he had before he healed. "You looked awful. They really must've done a number on you. Come and share a snack with me and we'll talk about it.

"Fine," Adrian sighed and winced, following him out of the room. "I really could use a stiff drink about now."

* * *

"You got the crap beat out of you?" Kai pressed when they reached his room and Adrian had a drink in his hand at last. "How could that be?"

"Well, in my defense, I don't think I was entirely awake when the intruder broke into the house, so if you look at it that way, I did pretty well," Adrian replied and took a swig from the glass he held. "Not that I'm just gonna let this go, of course. I'm gonna find them and do what I should have done last night!"

"Good for you!" Kai told him. "But do you know where they are, even?"

"No," Adrian shook his head. "But I just...I bet they'll come back. I can get them then."

"Of course you can!" Kai nodded. "Or not."

"What do you mean 'or not'?" Adrian asked, feeling affronted. "I could do it!"

"They already beat you once," Kai pointed out. "Who's to say they won't be able to do it again?"

Adrian narrowed his eyes. "You know, you're a terrible friend." He got up and went to another part of the house, grateful that he hadn't mentioned that he'd had his ass handed to him by a human.

He was correct when he said that the intruder would come back. The next night, and the night after that, they returned, but this time, he was ready for them and did a much better job of holding his own than he had before.

But at the same time, he was much easier on them than he would usually be because the fights did him lots of good and if he killed the only person who gave him any excitement anymore, then what would he have left?

* * *

After the third break-in, Lucifer asked to have a conference with him and Maeve. "What's going on with this person who's been breaking into the house?" He asked. "Who are they? What do they want? Why haven't you killed them yet?"

"Honestly, I don't know what they want," Adrian admitted. "I'm sorry. All I know is that they keep showing up, beating the shit out of me and then leaving."

"Oh, that's interesting," Lucifer grinned. "They like beating you up? That's the reason why they come? They're not stealing anything or wanting to kill anyone?"

"It could be that that's what they want, but if it is, they aren't telling me so," Adrian shrugged. "All I know about the person is that...is that they're human." He blushed deeply as he said this and averted his eyes.

"You got beaten up by a human?" Lucifer sighed. "I thought you would be good for protection, but if you can't protect us against one measly human..."

"They're a human who really knows how to fight!" Adrian defended himself. "It's not your run of the mill person who just stumbles in here."

When Lauren heard that the person who had victimized Adrian was human, she clutched Vincent's arm. "What if it's someone who's looking for me?" She questioned. "I mean, we know the police were when I was first kidnapped. What if they finally showed up? Maybe I should be with Adrian tonight so I can tell whoever is coming that it's okay and I'm not in any danger."

"No," Vincent shook his head. "I-I don't want that. I don't think it's a good idea."

"Why not?" Lauren asked. "It would be the easiest way to clear everything up if poor Adrian is getting beaten up because of me."

"Well, what if it _is_ about you?" Vincent asked. "What if it's someone who wants to take you back home and they do and I don't ever see you again? I can't risk that!"

"You know that if I was taken away, I would just come back," Lauren told him. "Where else would I have to go, since my parents are dead and Toni is who knows where? I don't have any other family or any other place to live. Where would they take me?"

"You make a good point, and I know that this is gonna make me feel like a pushy overprotective jerk to say, but...until we know exactly what this person wants, could you stay away from it all?" Vincent implored of her, his dark eyes drilling into hers, although the lock of dark hair hanging in them made him more cute than imposing. "I just don't want anything bad to happen to you, even though you're stronger than you used to be."

"All right," Lauren nodded. "But if you talk to whoever it is and you find out I'm involved in whatever they want, I want in from that point on, okay?"

"Sure," Vincent nodded. "All right. I'm comfortable with that."

"Good," Lauren told him and gave him a kiss. "I hoped you would be. Now that we have all that figured out, do you think we can go...away from here and do other stuff?"

"Sure," Vincent grinned. "What kind of other stuff?"

"Well, can we find your mom and see if she'll let me do that hunting thing she does?" Lauren asked. "I wanted to try that."

"Sure," Vincent nodded. "Okay." They bade Lucifer, Adrian, and Maeve goodbye and left Lucifer's office.

"So what do we do now?" Maeve asked. "Wait another night to see if Adrian will get beat up again? If they aren't telling you anything about why they're here, maybe I can take over and get something out of them. I'm very persuasive, you know."

"I can handle it!" Adrian cried. "I don't need any help!" His pride was wounded and he would do anything he had to to prove to them that he was competent. "I promise."

"One more night," Lucifer told him firmly. "One more night and then I'm giving this over to Maeve to handle. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Adrian nodded. "It's clear. I'll get it taken care of this evening, I promise."

* * *

That night, he waited at the intruder's usual entrance point, but this time, the lights were on and he was determined not to let his guard down at all. Maeve was waiting outside the door, but she promised that she wouldn't come in and steal his glory unless he really needed her to.

Although it was an hour later than usual, the intruder appeared much the same way they normally did, but this time, he grabbed them, ripped the fabric of their costume so he could get at their neck, and sank his fangs in to subdue them. When they were weak enough, he took the intruder's limp body out to the back of his car and threw it in, then told Maeve that it was all done.

"You got them?" Maeve asked. "Good for you. let me see." They went out to the car so Maeve could have a look and just as Adrian was tying the intruder up, they came to and undid the wrappings around their face and hair. Seeing the woman's face did nothing for Maeve, but then she turned to face Adrian and he gasped. It was the woman from the bar! The blonde who'd given him money and told him to get a prostitute! Here she was, breaking into his house!

They stared at one another for a few minutes and before she could open her mouth to speak, he knocked her out.

"Well, wasn't that a bit of an extreme reaction?" Maeve asked. "How are we supposed to get information out of her if she's unconscious, huh?"

"I will get out of her what we need," Adrian replied. "I just think it'll be easier to do if she's at my house because I'll be more comfortable and it might even seem less like a kidnapping, which of course could make her more willing to open up!"

"Or you could just threaten to break her hand and all her fingers," Maeve suggested. "That usually gets people to open up too."

"If she won't even talk to me, then you can break all her fingers, okay?" Adrian asked.

"Fine," Maeve sighed as he got into the driver's seat and started the car. "Okay."

* * *

The drive to Adrian's house was not an easy one. His captive woke up en route and he had to pull over a couple of times to stop her from getting out of the car and running away.

When they reached the house, he untied her, picked her up out of the backseat and put her over his shoulder while she yelled, swore, and protested as her hair swung around her face like a wheat colored cloud.

When he sat her down in the living room on the most uncomfortable wooden chair he had, she spat at him.

He wiped it off and grabbed her arms, leaning in so close that they were practically nose to nose. "Now that you're in more of a talking mood," he said through his teeth, "What were you doing breaking into my boss's house? What do you want?"

She looked at him with her lips pursed, and shook her head.

He growled and gave her a shake. "Tell me!" He yelled angrily. " _Tell me_!"

But she still remained silent.

He wasn't gonna let her win. He wouldn't. He would get some reaction out of her, some shock, some disgust, some fear...anything. Cause she clearly wasn't gonna give him any information.

So he grinned and kissed her, but it didn't last long before she slapped him hard and pushed him away It took some time, but finally, Toni found her way back to Lucifer's mansion. Not wanting to run into the front door guard or any other guard because there was a chance she could be overpowered despite all the Dragon had taught her. And because she was coming to this place to save Lauren, that was something that she couldn't risk happening.  
Clad in black from head to toe with only her eyes exposed, she stood across from the mansion and stared at it while she got up the nerve to go inside.  
Finally, she took off at a run and began circling the house to find a window to get into, because of course no one would be guarding the windows. She found one and then scaled the side of the house to get to it, but when she reached it, getting in wasn't easy. It felt like it had been glued shut.  
Taking a breath, she punched the glass several times and dropped into the room the window was part of, hoping it was her sister's room. But, to her frustration, the first voice she heard in the dark was male as two strong arms grabbed her. "Hey," he whispered. "Just who the hell are you?"  
She struggled for a bit and didn't say a word, but she couldn't get free cause he held her tight and was very strong. She couldn't let him know she was a woman. His ignorance of that fact was something she could use to her advantage.  
"Answer me!" He cried. But she still said nothing and he gave her a shake while dragging her away from the window.  
As she felt his hands move to cup her breasts, she gave him a slap and he dropped her hard on her stomach. As she got her breath and rolled onto her back, she got a good look at her assailant's hulking shape in the dark. He was large and strong and would probably have been intimidating to the average person, but she had been trained by the Dragon, who prepared her for events such as this. She feared nothing.  
Taking a deep breath, she began kicking the man and he was so shocked that as strong as he was and as big as he was, he didn't fight back. Or at least he didn't fight back as well as he probably would have if she were the sort of assailant he was expecting.  
Several roundhouse kicks and right hooks later, he was on the ground and struggling to breathe. Then she whacked him with something large and heavy that she found and when he was unconscious, that gave her some time to decide whether to leave or continue to look for her sister.  
Finally, she decided to leave and try again later when she had a clearer plan of attack in mind, or at least a better idea of where Lauren was so she could get in and out before running into another clown like him (or several) who could very well injure her and her sister.  
She cast her assailant a long look, then jumped out the window to head back to her hotel and get a good night's rest.  
And thankfully for Adrian, it wasn't long before Kai came by to see if he wanted to share a snack and a drink with him and found him just as he was coming to again.  
"What happened?" He asked as the lights came on and he rubbed the large bump on his head. "Where's the person who beat me up?"  
"Someone beat you up?" Kai asked and looked him over in the brief second he had before he healed. "You looked awful. They really must've done a number on you. Come and share a snack with me and we'll talk about it.  
"Fine," Adrian sighed and winced, following him out of the room. "I really could use a stiff drink about now."

"You got the crap beat out of you?" Kai pressed when they reached his room and Adrian hada drink in his hand at last. "How could that be?"  
"Well, in my defense, I don't think I was entirely awake when the intruder broke into the house, so if you look at it that way, I did pretty well," Adrian replied. "Not that I'm just gonna let this go, of course. I'm gonna find her and do what I should have done last night!"  
"Good for you!" Kai told him. "But do you know where they are, even?"  
"No," Adrian shook his head. "But I just...I bet they'll come back. I can get them then."  
"Of course you can!" Kai nodded. "Or not."  
"What do you mean 'or not'?" Adrian asked, feeling affronted. "I could do it!"  
"They already beat you once," Kai pointed out. "Who's to say they won't be able to do it again?"  
Adrian narrowed his eyes. "You know, you're a terrible friend." He got up and went to another part of the house, grateful that he hadn't mentioned that he'd had his ass handed to him by a human.

He was correct when he said that the intruder would come back. The next night, and the night after that, they returned, but this time, he was ready for them and did a much better job of holding his own than he had before.  
But at the same time, he was much easier on them than he would usually be because the fights did him lots of good and if he killed the only person who gave him any excitement anymore, then what would he have left?  
After the third break-in, Lucifer asked to have a conference with him and Maeve. "What's going on with this person who's been breaking into the house?" He asked. "Who are they? What do they want? Why haven't you killed them yet?"  
"Honestly, I don't know what they want," Adrian admitted. "I'm sorry. All I know is that they keep showing up, beating the shit out of me and then leaving."  
"Oh, that's interesting," Lucifer grinned. "They like beating you up? That's the reason why they come? They're not stealing anything or wanting to kill anyone?"  
"It could be that that's what they want, but if it is, they aren't telling me so," Adrian shrugged. "All I know about the person is that...is that they're human." He blushed deeply as he said this and averted his eyes.  
"You got beaten up by a human?" Lucifer sighed. "I thought you would be good for protection, but if you can't protect us against one measley human..."  
"They're a human who really knows how to fight!" Adrian defended himself. "It's not your run of the mill person who just stumbles in here."  
When Lauren heard that the person who had victimized Adrian was human, she clutched Vincent's arm. "What if it's someone who's looking for me?" She questioned. "I mean, we know the police were when I was first kidnapped. What if they finally showed up? Maybe I should be with Adrian tonight so I can tell whoever is coming that it's okay and I'm not in any danger."  
"No," Vincent shook his head. "I-I don't want that. I don't think it's a good idea."  
"Why not?" Lauren asked. "It would be the easiest way to clear everything up if poor Adrian is getting beaten up because of me."  
"Well, what if it is about you?" Vincent asked. "What if it's someone who wants to take you back home and they do and I don't ever see you again? I can't risk that!"  
"You know that if I was taken away, I would just come back," Lauren told him. "Where else would I have to go, since my parents are dead and Toni is who knows where. I don't have any other family or any other place to live. Where would they take me?"  
"You make a good point, and I know that this is gonna make me feel like a pushy over protective jerk to say, but...until we know exactly what this person wants, could you stay away from it all?" Vincent implored of her. "I just don't want anything bad to happen to you, even though you're stronger than you used to be."  
"All right," Lauren nodded. "But if you talk to whoever it is and you find out I'm involved in whatever they want, I want in from that point on, okay?"  
"Sure," Vincent nodded. "All right. I'm comfortable with that."  
"Good," Lauren told him and gave him a kiss. "I hoped you would be. Now that we have all that figured out, do you think we can go...away from here and do other stuff?"  
"Sure," Vincent grinned. "What kind of other stuff?"  
"Well, can we find your mom and see if she'll let me do that hunting thing she does?" Lauren asked. "I wanted to try that."  
"Sure," Vincent nodded. "Okay." They bade Lucifer, Adrian, and Maeve goodbye and left Lucifer's office.  
"So what do we do now?" Maeve asked. "Wait another night to see if Adrian will get beat up again? If they aren't telling you anything about why they're here, maybe I can take over and get something out of them. I'm very persuasive, you know."  
"I can handle it!" Adrian cried. "I don't need any help!" His pride was wounded and he would do anything he had to to prove to them that he was competent. "I promise."  
"One more night," Lucifer told him firmly. "One more night and then I'm giving this over to Maeve to handle. Is that clear?"  
"Yes," Adrian nodded. "It's clear. I'll get it taken care of this evening, I promise."

* * *

That night, he waited at the intruder's usual entrance point, but this time, the lights were on and he was determined not to let his guard down at all. Maeve was waiting outside the door, but she promised that she wouldn't come in and steal his glory unless he really needed her to.  
Although it was an hour later than usual, the intruder appeared much the same way they normally did, but this time, he grabbed them, ripped the fabric of their costume so he could get at their neck, and sank his fangs in to subdue them. When they were weak enough, he took the intruder's limp body out to the back of his car and threw it in, then told Maeve that it was all done.  
"You got them?" Maeve asked. "Good for you. let me see." They went out to the car so Maeve could have a look and just as Adrian was tying the intruder up, they came to and undid the wrappings around their face and hair. Seeing the woman's face did nothing for Maeve, but then she turned to face Adrian and he gasped. It was the woman from the bar! The blonde who'd given him money and told him to get a prostitute! Here she was, breaking into his house!  
They stared at one another for a few minutes and before she could open her mouth to speak, he knocked her out.  
"Well, wasn't that a bit of an extreme reaction?" Maeve asked. "How are we supposed to get information out of her if she's unconscious, huh?"  
"I will get out of her what we need," Adrian replied. "I just think it'll be easier to do if she's at my house because I'll be more comfortable and it might even seem less like a kidnapping, which of course could make her more willing to open up!"  
"Or you could just threaten to break her hand and all her fingers," Maeve suggested. "That usually gets people to open up too."  
"If she won't even talk to me, then you can break all her fingers, okay?" Adrian asked.  
"Fine," Maeve sighed as he got into the driver's seat and started the car. "Okay."

* * *

The drive to Adrian's house was not an easy one. His captive woke up en route and he had to pull over a couple of times to stop her from getting out of the car and running away.  
When they reached the house, he untied her, picked her up out of the backseat and put her over his shoulder while she yelled, swore, and protested as her hair swung around her face like a wheat colored cloud.  
When he sat her down in the living room on the most uncomfortable wooden chair he had, she spat at him.  
He wiped it off and grabbed her arms, leaning in so close that they were practically nose to nose. "Now that you're in more of a talking mood," he said through his teeth, "What were you doing breaking into my boss's house? What do you want?"  
She looked at him with her lips pursed, and shook her head.  
He growled and gave her a shake. "Tell me!" He yelled angrily. " _Tell me_!"  
But she still remained silent.  
He wasn't gonna let her win. He wouldn't. He would get some reaction out of her, some shock, some disgust, some fear...anything. Cause she clearly wasn't gonna give him any information and he had to come away with some sort of win for his own sake. He grinned and kissed her, but it didn't last long before she slapped him hard and tried to push him away, as he held her tight. She was surprised and disgusted, a growl escaping her throat as he brought her closer and closer to his warm body.  
"Don't you kiss me!" She cried, frowning deeply. "What makes you think you can do that? It's not nice of you!"  
"Oh, please," Adrian chuckled in a way that made little flicks of spit land on Toni's face. "You can't talk about doing things to people that aren't nice! You tried to break into my boss's house! You want to tell me why?"  
"No, not really!" Toni said stubbornly.  
"All right, whatever you say," Adrian shrugged and pulled her to himself again, kissing her deeply as his fingers threaded through her hair. This time, she didn't resist as much. Probably because she knew she'd have to talk to him if she tried to pull away and his lips on hers was the better alternative.  
He then moved to kissing her neck and shoulders after pulling the neck of her shirt down to expose the skin and a moan escaped her lips in spite of herself. He ran his hands up her arms after pushing up her sleeves and took her hands, massaging her palms with his thumbs. That felt really good. So good. _Too_ good.  
With a gasp, she broke the kiss and ripped herself out of his grip, running to grab a vase from one of the tables and smash him over the head with it. Then, she kneed him in the groin and punched him in the nose before running toward the front door as he shouted loudly and gave chase, not pausing until she had slammed it behind her and the cool air blew her hair around and made goosebumps break out on her arms as she took a deep breath and ran off into the night.


	80. I Don't Even Know Your Name

"Don't tell me you got ditched again!" Kai chuckled and choked on the bit of food he was eating so that Adrian had to pound him on the back to get it loose. "For god's sake! I thought you were good at fighting and good with women! Apparently, that's a lie!"

"I'm fine!" Adrian yelled and gave Kai a push. "I'm just a little out of practice."

"A little?" Kai repeated. "I think you're more than a little out of practice if she can hit you over the head and knee you in the groin and run off before you even do anything about it!"

"Well, it makes me feel a bit better to know that I kissed her and she liked it," Adrian sighed, snatching the cookie out of Kai's hand and then throwing it out the open window of his friend's bedroom.

"What did you do that for?" Kai cried.

"That's for laughing at me," Adrian shot back.

"Okay, fine," Kai stood up, hands out in a gesture of peace. "I'm sorry I laughed at you. It had to have hurt getting beaten up like that. But you're being mad at what I said is no excuse to take it out on an innocent cookie! That was the last one they had!"

"Don't you have magic?" Adrian asked, his eyes narrowing. "If you want food, can't you just zap up more?"

"I could," Kai admitted. "But what I zap up is never as good as what they've got in the kitchen."

"I thought you knew how to cook," Adrian pointed out. "I thought you learned at some point."

"Well, when I was on the run all those years, I must've forgotten something," Kai shrugged. "But I'll pick it up again some day. It'll give me something to do in what little free time I have." He paused. "You think you're gonna get in trouble for letting the bad guy go free once again?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Adrian shook his head. "Or at least I'll be able to use the fact that our lady assailant seems to have some weird fascination with me to my advantage."

"What makes you think she's obsessed with you?" Kai asked. "It could just be that that happens to be the window she picks to get into because it's easiest. And then you go to the window yourself. Maybe it's not that she likes you, but that you like her."

"Shut up," Adrian growled and stormed toward Kai's door to leave the room as his friend burst out laughing again. "No, it's not."

* * *

Knowing that he wouldn't get much sympathy at Lucifer's or with his dad, Adrian decided to leave the mansion and go see his mother and Dorian. She was always very sympathetic and she never laughed when anyone had a problem.

"Well, look who's here!" Dorian remarked as he ushered Adrian inside. "Do you realize how long it's been since you've visited your mother?"

"Nice to see you too, Dorian," Adrian remarked dryly. The dark-eyed demon who was his mother's latest husband was not someone Adrian normally socialized with. In fact, he usually didn't have much of a relationship with any of his mother's husbands who were not his dad at all. "Is Mom here? I need to talk to her. If she's not, I can leave. I don't want to take up more of your time than I have to."

"Oh, she's here," Dorian assured him and went and got Selina, who immediately saw her son's sour face and asked about it.

"What brings you here?" She asked, sitting down next to him. "Are you having a problem? How can I help?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Adrian sighed. "Just this awful woman. She _is_ awful, even if she does have lovely long blonde hair, a nice heart shaped face, and really full, wonderful lips..." he then sort of stared into space, leaving Dorian and Selina to give one another a look.

"Can't you tell just how much he hates her, Dorian?" Selina asked as Dorian chuckled behind his newspaper. "She sounds so awful! Like such a _monster!_ "

"Completely!" Dorian agreed. "No reason why he would be attracted to her at all."

Adrian came out of his spell then. "So you two agree with me? Do you see why I'm having such a problem with this?"

"No, not really," Selina shook her head. "If you like how she looks so much, what's the problem?"

"The problem is that I can't be with her, can I?" Adrian said, showing his teeth.

"Why not?" Selina questioned.

"Mom, she beat me up!" Adrian yelled. "Lots of times! More than I'd like to admit! If I enter into that kind of relationship, it'll just be another woman thinking she can run my life like Helene did and I don't want to go through that again."

"Or maybe it won't be," Selina shrugged. "You won't know unless you give it a chance!"

"So let me get this straight," Adrian said to her. "You want me to be with someone who beats me up and makes me feel like an idiot."

"Well, no, of course not!" Selina replied. "That's terrible! But like, what's the situation with her? How did the two of you meet? Why does she want to beat you up? I need details if I'm gonna be any help to you at all."

"Well, I don't have many details to give you," Adrian said. "All I know is that she comes to Lucifer's house every night and gets in, beating me up when I try and stop her from doing whatever it is she comes to do. She won't tell me any details."

"If you think about it then, her belligerence toward you could have nothing to do with you at all," Selina reasoned, her big blue eyes thoughtful. "She could just beat up on you because you're in the way of whatever mission she's trying to accomplish. It could be that it's nothing personal. But you're not gonna know until you get her to talk to you. I'm surprised you haven't compelled her to confess everything yet. She's human, right? Or not?"

"Shit, you're right!" Adrian cried, jumping to his feet. "I can do that! I'm such an idiot, what's _wrong_ with me?"

"Oh, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with you," Selina assured him. "You just spend so much time alone that you forget what you can do, right? Maybe it wouldn't hurt you to get out more. Go out with Kai, go out with Maeve, go out with somebody. Anyone at all."

"You know that me and Maeve are friends?" Adrian questioned. "Wait, has Lucifer been telling you stuff about me?"

"Well, yes..." Selina confessed. "He told me that you've been having some trouble getting the upper hand on this intruder and it's lucky she's not intent on stealing anything."

"I know it's a worry he has and I know I'm responsible for dealing with it, which is why when the full moon comes up tonight and I've turned into a wolf, I'm gonna go look for her, catch her by surprise. Make her uneasy on her own turf. I might be able to get something out of her then. At the very least, find out what she's up to," Adrian resolved. "Yep, I'm gonna do that."

"Good!" Selina told him. "But be careful and don't get hurt too badly! How will you find her if you don't know who she is or where she lives?"

"Don't worry about that," Adrian said. "I have my ways."

He left then and Dorian put his paper down to look at his wife. "Isn't it nice when children come visit? You can tell they really want to be here and talk with us!"

"I know," Selina gave a long suffering sigh and went to get a cookie while thinking that it had been awhile since she'd talked to either of _her_ parents or her uncle. "I know. Kids, right?"

* * *

The close contact he'd had with Toni had made her scent unforgettable to Adrian, so, just like he'd said, during the full moon that night, he decided to use his time in his wolf form to look around for her. Find her in her place, show up unexpectedly and see how _she_ liked it.

He found her in a flea bag motel not far from Lucifer's house. He made his way in and after sending everyone in the vincity running in fear, he began nosing around for her scent. He finally found it and followed it down a long hallway and through an open door.

The last thing Toni (who was sound asleep) expected when she opened her eyes was to find a full grown wolf on her room. She let out a shriek and grabbed a bat, trying to hit the wolf with it, but couldn't seem to be able to. He did growl at her, but he didn't try to bite and when she was up against the wall and panting with fright, he began sniffing a very inappropriate place on her body and rubbing his head against it.

"You are such a pervert, you..." she pushed him away and hit his back and he backed up, then she shook her head. "I must be crazy," she chuckled to herself. "I'm yelling at a wolf, at a wild animal who could kill me! I must be out of my mind!" She then turned just in time for him to pounce on her, knock her to the floor, and slobber on her for a bit before backing off just as suddenly and transforming to his human self.

Toni was terrified as she watched, but then as she looked longer and longer, taking in his lithe body and muscular arms and legs, she wasn't so scared anymore. Instead, she was aware of a warmth spreading through her body as her jaw dropped and some drool dribbled onto her t-shirt.

Adrian chuckled at that as he came toward her, then got down on his knees and cupped her face with his hands, learning in closer and closer until her breath touched his bottom lip and she felt like she was drowning in his blue eyes. It was disconcerting for sure, but better than if she had other parts of him in her face.

"What...what are you doing?" She breathed. "What do you want?" Then she heard the fear in her voice, cleared her throat, and raised her chin. "So you found me. Am I supposed to applaud you now? Give you a cookie? Do a little cheer?"

"Oh, yes," Adrian grinned. "And it would be even better if you were wearing a tight little uniform!"

"Oh, you're disgusting!" She cried before he grabbed her and kissed her deeply again. She threw her arms around his neck as his hands went down her back and cupped her bottom.

"How'd you find me?" She panted as they kissed over and over and worked on getting her out of her sweatshirt. "Do you have me lo-jacked or something? What the hell are you, anyway?"

"Do you have a problem with your eyesight?" Adrian responded. "Clearly, I'm a werewolf. Haven't you ever watched a movie?"

"Well, of course, but I didn't think they existed," Toni replied. "I thought it was all made up!"

"It's not," Adrian snapped and then held her face so that she was looking right in his eyes. "Now tell me, does what you want at Lucifer's house have anything to do with me? When you come and beat me up every night, is it personal?"

"No," Toni shook her head. "I'm...it has nothing to do with you. I just...as I told you lots of times before, why I go to the house every night is none of your business. Plus, even though it's nothing about you personally, beating you up is a plus. I need to keep up with my training and that's a good way to do it."

Adrian chuckled. "Well you know I can suggest a more pleasant form of exercise where neither of us get injured..." His eyes flicked over her body then. "If you're limber enough, that is."

"You think I could kick your ass like I have if I wasn't fit?" Toni scoffed. "Boy are you dumb!" She then laughed. "Oh, god. I can't believe you're trying to hit on me again. I hope you use a better line than what you did last time because that was just pathetic."

"Well, I wasn't really trying hard last time!" Adrian shot back.

"That much was obvious!" Toni told him. "At that point, it had been _months_ since I'd even seen a man and you stirred nothing in me so what does that say?"

"I'd say it doesn't matter because I know you're really feeling something _now_!" Adrian pointed out.

Toni growled in frustration and pulled his hair. "If you think you're gonna get more out of me about why I keep coming to your boss's house, you won't! I'm not saying anything!"

"I know," Adrian nodded, rubbing where she'd pulled. "You've made that abundantly clear. I know that's a pointless line of questioning and as long as you're not coming to rob or murder or anything like that, it really doesn't matter anyway."

"You're right," Toni nodded. "So stop asking me about it and go away. Just because you finally found me doesn't mean you get to just make yourself at home."

"So let me get this straight," Adrian told her. "You can break into my house and beat the crap out of me, but when I show up uninvited and give you the best show you've ever had, I just have to leave." He looked around at her dirty hotel room and clicked his tongue. "I can take you with me when I go. How can you like staying here?"

"Well, I don't like it, but I can't afford anything else and a roof over my head is a roof over my head," Toni replied.

"You wanna go some place better for one night?" Adrian offered. He was too sorry for her to be mad anymore. "We can go to my house if it'll hurt your pride too much for me to pay for a hotel."

"Oh, all right, fine!" Toni nodded. "Just for one night, though."

"Good," Adrian nodded. "Okay."

* * *

So they left her room after he got on some of her bigger clothes and drove to his house, and when the bedroom door was closed behind them, Adrian grabbed Toni and kissed her again.

"What was that for?" She asked after slapping him. "Was it your reward for getting me to a nicer place? Is it what you feel you're entitled to?"

"No!" Adrian shook his head. "Are you sending me mixed messages now, or did you really just want to stop with me getting your sweatshirt off?"

Toni looked down at her shirt and sighed. He really _was_ a good kisser when he was trying and not being a complete doofus. And it had been a while for her. Too long.

"Fine, let's do it," she told him. "But only because it's really been a long time for me. Not because I like you or anything."

"Oh, of course," Adrian nodded. "I feel exactly the same way. No feelings. No strings." He pulled her to him then, his hands going in her hair as he kissed her deeply. As Toni pulled out of the kiss, she bit his bottom lip while he picked her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. He carried her to his bed and they paused, their breathing heavy as he finally got out of her clothes and smiled a big smile while she watched him undress and tried to pretend like she didn't care.

"What are you so smug about?" She asked, giving him a push when she'd had enough of that look he had. Or trying to, anyway. He was surprisingly solid.

"Well, I've always felt more comfortable naked anyway," he said.

"Oh, why does that not surprise me?" Toni questioned.

When she was down to her underwear, she ran back to bed and kissed him deeply, trying to stay on top, but there was no way he'd let that happen, at least not the first time. He flipped her over so she was underneath him and then began kissing down her neck and on her shoulders and collarbone before sucking gently on her nipples, slipping off her panties and giving her a rub.

She moaned over and over, glad she didn't know his name because it would have killed her to say it out loud. And she was glad he didn't know _her_ name either. It made her feel safer that way.

After she climaxed, they stared at each other, trying to catch their breaths. Then she got out, "Are you done?"

"No," he panted. "Not by a long shot." Then he loomed over her with a grin for a few more seconds before his hands went up her legs and arms and he parted her legs to massage her inner thighs. Then he grazed her neck with his teeth before burying himself inside her over and over until they were both clutching one another tight, no longer under the blankets cause they'd rolled off the bed and landed on the floor.

"Wow," she breathed. "That was something."

"Thank you," Adrian grinned.

"Don't give yourself too much credit," she narrowed her eyes at him. "It's been a while for me. I would have taken anyone with a pulse."

"I would believe that," Adrian nodded. "I mean, do you usually sleep with guys whose names you don't know?"

"Not usually," Toni shook her head. "But I suppose I should tell you it now. I'm Toni."

"Adrian," He supplied and gave her butt a squeeze as she got up off the floor to stretch.

"What did you do that for?" She asked after whipping around and giving him a reflexive slap in return.

"You have a nice ass," he shrugged. "I couldn't help myself."

Toni looked behind her. "I do, don't I?" She smiled. "Glad you noticed." She then rooted around for her clothes and when she was dressed, said, "I'm going now. Don't _ever_ think of coming to my place again. Especially while I'm asleep."

"I wouldn't dream of it now that I know what a hell-hole you're living in," Adrian replied. "Go and get your beauty sleep. It looks like you need it."

"Drop dead." Toni said.

"You first," Adrian returned.

Then she left and slammed the door behind her as he chuckled into his pillow.

* * *

"Nice to see you out of my brother's room," Valerie remarked to Lauren with a smile when she came to join her in the music room one day. "You and Vincent just can't seem to keep your hands off each other, can you?"

"No, not really," Lauren shook her head. "Is it normal for someone who's...you know, what I am, to be so...needing sex all the time? Or am I just weird? Or is it something that he can do with his magic powers?"

"Well, we inherited an ability from our father that makes people drawn to us, but that's usually only humans, so it wouldn't work on you, I don't think," Valerie shook her head. She then watched as Lauren, who had been making her way from the door to the sofa where she sat, paused, swayed on her feet, and fainted. Valerie caught her before her head hit the floor, though. "Are you okay?" She asked and carried her to the sofa. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Lauren shook her head. "I'm a bit dizzy." Then she shot upright and threw up all over Valerie's dress.

"Okay," Valerie sighed irritably. "I know you're not possessed like the girl in _The Exorcist_ , so that's not why you're puking. I would guess you're pregnant from all the time you've spent in my brother's bed."

"No," Lauren shook her head, her eyes wide with shock. "That can't be. We use protection!"

"Well, Vincent's acrobatics must have torn something," Valerie shrugged. "I didn't want to say anything cause apparently it's rude, but..." she leaned forward and spoke next in an exaggerated whisper. "You _have_ been looking a little chubby lately."

"I have?" Lauren asked, blushing a little and putting a hand on her stomach. "Oh, geez!"

"It's fine, obviously it doesn't matter to Vincent," Valerie said and made a disgusted face as she looked down at her puke covered dress. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go shower and change."

After she left Lauren alone, Lauren collapsed on one of the sofas and thought about what she said. It _could_ be that she was pregnant. She'd never been before, so she had no idea what it was like. And true, her period was a little later than usual, but now that she was a demon and all, that could mean anything.

Sighing, she got up, ate some crackers, and then went to see Vincent, who, of course, was in the library, pounding out "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2." on the piano, but he changed songs to "Fur Elise" as she came in.

"Hi," he smiled. "What's going on? How are you?"

"I'm...I'm doing good," she said. "Can I borrow your car? I need to pick something up at the store."

"Okay, sure," Vincent nodded. He was much less territorial about his Mercedes than his father was about _his_ car. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, thanks," Lauren replied with a shake of her head. "I think I can handle it."

Vincent then nodded and gave her the keys and she headed out, driving to the drug store and grabbing three pregnancy tests, so she could be absolutely sure.

"All right," she told Valerie when she got back. "I have them and I'm going to take them now."

"Good," Valerie nodded. "Good for you."

"Would you wait by the bathroom door and make sure Vincent doesn't come and interrupt?" Lauren questioned.

"Why would he interrupt you when you're in the bathroom?" Valerie asked and made a face. "What sort of weird stuff are you guys into?"

"Not in that way!" Lauren shook her head. "I meant that I think he's concerned and, you know, in his concern, he might want to help and end up only getting in the way. I need you to stop that. Please?"

"Fine," Valerie sighed. "I guess, since you said 'Please'."

So she stood guard outside the bathroom door in Vincent's bedroom just like she promised and finally, Lauren came out, all the pregnancy tests done.

"So?" Valerie questioned with a wide smile. "Did my brother knock you up, or what?"

"He did," Lauren replied with a sigh. "And I don't know whether to be pleased or terrified. It's not gonna kill me, is it? If I decide to go through with the pregnancy, that is."

"No!" Valerie shook her head. "I mean, if you were still human, giving birth to Vincent's baby would kill you for sure, but since you're a demon now, I don't think you're in any more danger than a human woman would be giving birth to a human baby. There's risk, but death's not a guarantee."

"Well, that's better than nothing, I guess," Lauren said. "I think I'll go tell Vincent now. And don't you tell anyone else, okay?"

"I wouldn't," Valerie replied. "I swear."

"Really?" Lauren asked suspiciously. She'd been around Valerie enough to realize that you couldn't always take her at her word. Sometimes, she'd be contrary just for fun.

"Yes, I swear," Valerie repeated. "I won't say a word to Mom or Dad or anyone. It's all your business and I won't get involved more than I have to."

"Thanks," Lauren told her. "I appreciate it. And thanks for getting me through this."

"You're welcome," Valerie told her as she watched Lauren leave to go in search of her brother and tell him he was gonna be a daddy. "It's my pleasure."


	81. I Want To Be Wanted

"So tell me again?" Vincent requested of Lauren as they lay staring at each other in the dark that night, the covers over them like a tent cause neither of them could sleep. "You're _pregnant_?"

"Yeah," Lauren nodded. "I'm sorry. I know you probably don't want this, and..."

"Marry me," Vincent interrupted her. "Please?"

"No!" Lauren shook her head. "I mean, I would love to, but I don't want to if you're only asking because I'm pregnant."

"Oh, no!" Vincent shook his head and scooted closer to her. "I know it might seem that way, but I've been thinking about asking since I brought you all the stuff from your house, but I thought you wouldn't say 'Yes'."

"Actually, I've kind of been waiting for you to ask since you brought all the stuff from my house," Lauren replied. "I've been waiting and waiting but you haven't said anything."

"Really?" Vincent asked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously!" Lauren smiled and kissed him. As he put his arms around her, she felt better than she had all day. "I don't think I'd be able to marry anyone else after you." She paused. "Do you want me to say 'Yes' or not?"

"Of course I do!" Vincent nodded. "Of course I do!"

"Good!" Lauren smiled, threw the covers off herself, sat up, and gave Vincent the biggest smooch ever. "Of course I'll marry you!"

They didn't sleep for the rest of the night after that because they were too busy grinning at each other.

* * *

The next morning, because they wanted to keep the news to themselves a bit longer, they tried to keep straight faces when they went downstairs to breakfast. But that failed and they were holding hands openly and grinning when they reached the table.

"Welll the two of you seem like you're in good moods," Lucifer remarked. "Any reason why in particular?"

"Why does one need a particular reason to be happy?" Lauren asked as Vincent pulled out her chair and then went to sit down himself. "What's for breakfast today? All the usual options?"

"Looks like it," Vincent nodded. "What do you want me to get you?"

"Oh, a little bit of everything would be nice," Lauren replied. "Thanks. I don't know why, but I'm just really hungry this morning."

That remark made Valerie choke on her coffee. She then kept her eyes on Lauren as Vincent brought her a giant plate full of eggs and bacon and pancakes.

"Are you sure you're gonna be able to eat all that?" She asked. "There looks to be enough food for two people there!"

Vincent's head shot up, his eyes wide as Lauren kicked Valerie under the table and shook her head.

But neither Lucifer nor Ellie felt there was anything strange about her remark and just went on eating until Ellie asked Lauren how she'd slept.

"Oh, just fine," Lauren replied with a smile. "No trouble at all. You?"

"Great!" Ellie smiled back. "So...what are the two of you doing today? If you're interested in going outside the house, there are lots of good movies playing. And a lovely exhibit on Van Gogh at the art center."

"You know, I wouldn't mind going out today," Vincent said. "Would you mind if Lauren and I came along with you? If that's all right with her?"

"Sure!" Lauren nodded and spoke through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "I would love that!"

"All right," Ellie nodded. Then she looked at Lucifer. "I assume you don't want to come?"

"No, Angelica and I are going on that murder tour that you said was morbid and Vincent and Valerie said was lame," Lucifer told her and caught his younger daughter's eye as she gave him a wink.

"Well, I'm glad you found someone to go with you," Ellie replied. "I know you hate going places alone."

After breakfast, just before she was about leave, Valerie caught Lauren, who was getting her coat out of the hall closet.

"What did you have to go and kick me for?" She demanded. "It hurt!"

"Well, you were really close to giving away something that's supposed to be a secret until Vincent and I choose to divulge it," Lauren replied. "That kick was a reminder to you to keep your trap shut. I thought you would blab. I knew it!"

"I didn't blab!" Valerie protested. "And Mom and Dad didn't pick up on your big secret anyway. They're still as clueless as ever."

"Good," Lauren nodded, her eyes narrowed as she put her coat on and zipped it up. "Let's keep it that way, shall we?"

* * *

Angelica usually didn't go to her father's night club for anything other than business, but after one particularly trying day of do-gooding, she thought she could use a drink. She strode into the bar in her frilly white silk blouse with pearl buttons that was buttoned all the way to the top that had an olive green suit jacket over it with a matching skirt and sat down at the bar, setting her purse down and waiting for the men who were drinking nearby to come and hit on her so she could reject them loudly and hit them with her purse because she heard that's what happened in places like this. But no one came. No one even looked at her.

And when she approached one of the men, gave him a smile, and asked in her sexiest voice if he would buy her a drink, he just laughed.

"Seriously?" He asked. "No." He looked her over. "No, thanks." He then burst into laughter again, and to her surprise, Sam Jr. seemed to stride out of nowhere and glare at him. "What's so funny?" He asked in a cold voice.

"That...that snob thought I would buy her a drink!" The man told him. "Isn't she funny? She dresses like an uptight schoolmarm and thinks anyone would find her pretty enough to want to get her a drink!"

Over his shoulder, Sammy was able to see the sag in Angelica's shoulders and he bet that if he got closer to her, she would try and pretend she wasn't almost ready to cry. "You watch how you talk about her," he whispered angrily, hoping she wouldn't hear. "No one calls her a snob but me."

"Okay, geez!" The man, who had shaggy dark hair, olive skin, and a goatee, backed off. "Sorry. Didn't mean to talk badly about your girl."

"She's not my girl, but no one deserves to be talked about like they don't matter," Sammy replied through his teeth. "Now get out of my sight before I do something I might regret."

The guy bared his teeth and stomped away along with the other men he was with.

Then Sam hustled her back to the bar stool and asked Vince, who was tending the bar, to get her whatever drink she wanted, and if she wanted more than one, that was okay too.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Angelica told him with a sniffle. "You really don't."

"I want to," Sammy replied sincerely, looking her in the eye. He had really nice blue eyes, she noticed. Just like the ocean. "Please. Order something. You really look like you could use it."

"I really could," Angelica agreed and ordered a vodka and cranberry juice. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Sammy replied. "When you've drunk enough, I'll be by the stage. You and I need to talk some more."

"All right," Angelica nodded. She had no idea what he meant, but she was intrigued. "See you then."

* * *

Although it was usually not Angelica's style to admit fault about herself or anything at all (especially in front of someone like Sam Jr.), she knew this was the kind of situation where her mother would scold her if she didn't so after she had a few drinks, she went looking for him, finding him in a little nook behind the stage.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he told her. "How did you like your drinks?"

"Good. And I just..." she got out. "I just wanted to..." She tried one more time. "I just wanted to say thank you again for standing up for me with those guys."

"You're welcome!" Sammy said in surprise. "I thought you were gonna yell at me about that cause it made you feel like an idiot to be defended by me."

"No _, they_ were the ones that made me feel like an idiot. Why do you think they treated me like that?" She pulled him close to her. "I'm pretty, right? Tell me I'm pretty!"

"Well, you'd be much prettier if you didn't always dress like a lawyer going to court or an eighteen-hundreds schoolmarm," Sammy told her. "Be approachable. Wear jeans and short skirts! T-shirts that let guys see your boobs! _Then_ they might actually ask you if you want a drink."

"Oh, what do you know?" Angelica scoffed, hands on hips as . "I don't think I want to listen to you!"

"Fine," he said as she stomped off. "But I have three dates tonight. And how many do you have? Hmmm?"

She turned and glared at him. "I'm not taking fashion advice from a slob!" She said. "And if I have to show men my boobs to get anywhere, I think I'd rather not! I want to be liked for more than just my body! You probably only want me to wear shirts that show my boobs so you can have a look."

Sammy strode over and undid the buttons of her shirt before cupping her breasts. "Okay, I've seen 'em," he told her. "Happy? And I'm touching them, even though I don't give a damn about your body! Not a lot to look at if you ask me."

"Well, I didn't!" Angelica spat and gave him such a hard slap that his head snapped to one side as her eyes flashed red.

As blood rose up in his cheek, he rubbed it and glared at her. "If you want to get a date, more about you will have to be overhauled than just your clothes. You'll probably have to get a whole new personality!" Then he pushed her against the wall. "And don't ever touch me again!"

"My personality is fine!" Angelica shot back and pulled away from him. "It's everyone else who's too stupid to see it!"

"Oh, no, you're _definitely_ the stupid one!" Sammy told her. "You know, I was really starting to care about you for a bit there, but now I wouldn't if you were the last woman on earth!"

"I wouldn't want you to!" Angelica snapped. "I can get any guy I want! I don't need you. Go on your stupid dates and get away from me!"

"I will," Sammy promised. "Goodbye!"

* * *

It took her a few days to calm down and even _think_ about going back to her dad's club, but on the night she decided she was ready, she decided to give Sammy's advice a shot, even though it was probably nonsense.

"Valerie, I was thinking of going back to the Underground tonight," she told her sister. "Could I borrow one of your dresses? I know what I wear doesn't always turn heads."

"Are you asking me to dress you?" Valerie clapped her hands and enveloped her sister in a bone-crushing hug. "I've been waiting for you to ask me that forever!" She then pulled out some dark wash skinny jeans so tight that Angelica could barely move when she put them on, a silver top that showed off her shoulders, and pair of black slingbacks. "Here you go," she said. "Those should fit you. And once you've got your clothes on, we'll do your hair."

"I don't think we need to do a lot," Angelica protested after she dressed. "I think it just needs a good brushing is all."

"Oh, no," her sister grinned and got out a whole bunch of stuff including mousse and spray so that Angelica's hair became really big under her sister's expert hands. "There!" She said with a smile and then did Angelica's make-up too. "You look hot!"

"I can't go out like this!" Angelica groaned as Valerie put big silver and diamond earrings in her ears. "You know what this look says about me? 'Hello, I'm Angelica Morningstar and my naughty girlfriends and I are waiting for your call'. That is _not_ the image I want to project!"

"Good!" Valerie clapped. "That means I did it right!"

"No!" Angelica shook her head, her eyes wide with horror. "I wanted you to make me look beautiful and a little hipper! _Not_ like I got lost on the way to my street corner! This is _way_ too sexy!"

"Oh my gosh!" Valerie shouted and tugged on her hair. "What more do you want from me? Do you want to get laid or not? And the words 'too' and 'sexy' don't even go together! They're gibberish _together._ "

"I just want a guy to tell me I'm pretty and get me a drink!" Angelica clarified. "This doesn't have anything to _do_ with sex!"

"It _should_!" Valerie told her. "Cause do you realize you're the only one of us in this family who isn't having any? I am _very_ concerned for you! We have powers that should be getting you admirers in droves so why don't you have a boyfriend? Or two? Or five?"

"I don't know," Angelica shrugged. "And frankly, I don't really care. There's more to life than having sex and it wouldn't hurt you to think about that."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Valerie huffed. "I don't need a sermon. You need to get out and be with people! It'll be good for you! In fact, I can come to the Underground with you, if you want."

"Okay," Angelica agreed. "Thanks. I guess it couldn't hurt."

* * *

Because she was wearing precisely the sort of thing Sammy told her would get her a date, Angelica prepared to be swarmed when she and her sister entered the club, although there was a part of her that really thought everyone would ignore her and go straight to Valerie. But to her surprise, five or six men (and a couple of women) surrounded her the second she and Valerie walked through the door. They were talking her up and trying to get their hands on her while shouting offers to buy her a drink when, just as suddenly as they appeared, they turned away from her and, as she'd originally thought, left her to amuse themselves with Valerie, leaving Angelica no choice but to go get a drink. She sighed and looked down at the bar until Valerie freed herself from her adoring throng and came to sit by her. "I gotta learn from Dad how to turn that off," she remarked. "It can get really annoying sometimes."

"Yeah, I bet it can," Angelica told her. "I just bet. And do you see what I mean about no one caring about me regardless of what I wear? I told you. I mean, I thought I was doing okay, but then they just left! I didn't even get anything out of it, really!"

There was a clatter as Sam dropped a tray of silverware and dirty glasses when he got an eyeful of Angelica as he made his way back to the kitchen. Ignoring the mess around him, he stepped over it and ran to get a better look at her while trying to keep himself from drooling. "You listened to me! You...you look really pretty!" He then backpedaled, clearing his throat. "Or at least you don't look like an forty-year-old woman. It's an improvement."

"Thanks for noticing," Angelica sighed. "It's nice _someone_ did. Even if it's _you_."

Valerie was watching this exchange with distaste. "Okay, you've said your bit, now go away so better guys than you can have a look at my sister."

"Well, if you'll excuse me for saying so, it doesn't seem like anyone else is coming," Sammy told Valerie.

"Of course not, but only because you're in the way!" Valerie said. "My sister deserves better than some dishwasher, so scoot!"

Sammy just glared and shook his head, pulling up the bar stool on Angelica's other side. "I have some time off now. You want another vodka and cranberry?"

"Okay," Angelica agreed. "But I'll pay for it. You don't have to."

"No, I insist," Sammy told her, his eyes subtly roaming over her body. "Let me get it for you. Please."

"Okay," Angelica nodded. "You can order it while I go to the bathroom." She got up, but stepped wrong on her heels, nearly plowing head first into a bar stool until Sammy grabbed her from behind and held her much longer than was necessary.

"Thanks for saving me," she said. "But you can let go now. I'm fine."

"Oh, right, sorry," Sammy agreed and dropped her on the floor. It was only throwing her hands out in front of her that stopped her from hitting her face. "Thanks," she glared at him. "That was so helpful."

"You're welcome," Sammy told her. "Now you go to the bathroom and you'll have your vodka and cranberry juice when you get back."

Valerie watched them for as long as she could and then headed to a corner where she gave her father a call.

"I have a question about those powers of ours that draw people to us," she said.

"Yes?" Lucifer said. "What about them?"

"We're all supposed to have them, right? I think there might be something wrong with Angelica's," Valerie explained.

"What do you mean 'something wrong with Angelica's'?" Lucifer asked.

"Hers don't work!" Valerie cried. "We're here at the Underground and she looks hot! I know because I dressed her and did her hair and stuff and at first I thought it worked, but then everyone just left and paid attention to me! The only person who even _looked_ her way for more than two seconds was that Sam guy she hates. She's so desperate for company that she even let him get her a drink! What are we gonna do?"

"I think I might have a suspicion about what's going on," Lucifer told her with a sigh. "She said a foolish prayer to your grandfather and this just might the consequence of it. And if that's the case, there's nothing we can do. We just have to sit back and watch it happen."

"I don't think I can," Valerie sighed. "I'd rather gouge out my eyes. Or fight it. She should be able to choose who she dates and not just end up with whoever Grandpa wants."

"Don't fight something your grandfather has involved himself in," Lucifer told her, his voice wary. "It's more trouble than it's worth. Trust me."


	82. No Strings Attached

When Adrian next returned to the mansion, a smug grin on his face, Kai was waiting for him with coffee and a muffin as they made their way to his room.

"That's all?" He asked, looking down at the sad little blueberry thing. "I'm gonna need more than that! I'm starving!"

"Well, if you want more, you'll have to go somewhere else because you know that when it comes to food, I don't share," Kai reminded him. "And are you at least going to thank me for the coffee?"

"Oh, right," Adrian nodded. "Thank you for the coffee."

"You're welcome," Kai replied with a smile. "You seem chipper. Have you been beaten up by that woman again?"

"Oh, no," Adrian shook his head and grinned. " _Au contraire,_ my friend. I slept with her!" He then put his hand up for a high five, but didn't get one because Kai was gaping at him in surprise, his coffee spilling right onto his lap.

"Here," Adrian sighed and went and got him a towel to clean himself up with. "And I don't know why you're so shocked. It kind of offends me."

"I am shocked in happy way," Kai replied, sighing at the stain on his pants and then zapping it away. "I thought you were content with being a hermit bachelor for the rest of your life."

"Well, it's not an option I would have hated," Adrian admitted. "But I ran into a hot woman who wanted to sleep with me and there was no way I was gonna turn that down."

"Even though she plowed her fist into your face and knocked you out?" Kai asked.

"It's not gonna happen again," Adrian informed him with a smirk. "We've reached a _detente_."

"Oh?" Kai raised an eyebrow. "And just what does that mean?"

"It means she told me that she means no one here ill, and then we decided that since we both have needs, we're gonna start seeing each other whenever one of us needs to scratch an itch!" Adrian shrugged. "Seems like a good deal to me!"

"Now it might," Kai nodded. "But what if she makes you commit? You know you hate that."

"She doesn't seem like the type," Adrian shook his head. "And I don't want to ruin things by worrying about whether or not that might change, so stop putting ideas in my head! Let me enjoy this!"

"Okay, okay, fine!" Kai backed up, hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Sorry."

"Thank you," Adrian told him. "Now, what are you doing with yourself today?"

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Kai, I'm here!" Victoria called. "Are you ready yet? The movie starts in half an hour!"

"I get to go out with Victoria today!" Kai grinned and zapped on black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. "Good?"

"Yeah," Adrian nodded. "Fine."

"Well, coming from you, that's high praise so I'll take it." Kai remarked, then opened the door to let his wife in.

"You know, I see a lot more of you than I thought I would when I heard you got dragged off to pay the piper," she told Kai and gave him a quick kiss. "Not that I'm complaining. Maybe it means you've been behaving yourself. That's good."

"Yeah, it's Adrian that's been getting into trouble," Kai smirked.

"Oh?" Victoria asked, giving Adrian a wave over Kai's shoulder, which he returned. "What's been going on?"

"For reasons that I still don't exactly know, a woman broke into the house a few times. I was the one who dealt with her. She's a really good fighter," Adrian said. "But I'm beginning to learn her ways. It's gonna be okay."

"Good," Victoria nodded. "Great! So good to hear. All right, Kai. We better get going to the movie if you want time to get the truckload of candy and popcorn you have to have."

"Yes," Kai nodded with a grin. "Lead the way, Vicky. Ladies first."

"You know he only lets you go ahead of him so he can look at your butt!" Adrian yelled at Victoria.

"Oh, I'm very aware of that," Victoria assured him with a grin over her shoulder, her dark eyes bright. "And I really don't mind."

Once Kai had gone, Adrian decided to leave his room and go somewhere else, but ran into Maeve when he opened the door.

"Hi," she said with a smile. "I have to compliment you. Whatever you did with the intruder seems to be working. She hasn't come by in a while."

"Thanks," Adrian nodded. "Took some time, but we finally...connected, and I told her to stay the hell away. So glad she listened."

"Want to get a celebratory drink?" Maeve questioned.

"This early in the morning?" Adrian asked in surprise.

"Does that matter?" Maeve made a face. "I didn't think you'd be one of the judge-y ones."

"I'm not," Adrian shook his head. "I don't mind a drink in the morning. I just didn't think you would."

"Well, you learned something new about me today," Maeve smiled. "Come on."

* * *

Though Christopher was getting much better about venturing out of his room, there was still a part of him that felt safest there, and that the best time to leave was at night when no one was awake to see him or ask what he was up to.

He woke up one night, his stomach growling loudly. He decided to sneak down to the kitchen and eat something, then run back before he was caught and questioned. It was very hard to do that undisturbed since the house was full of so many people, but he was getting really good at it.

As he sneaked into the kitchen that night, he saw that someone had already beaten him there, their hand on the open refrigerator door.

Then he began backing up as the door closed and the light came on. "Sorry," He apologized to Adrian. "Didn't mean to bother. Going back to bed. I'm not that hungry."

"No, wait!" Adrian replied as he turned, trying to look as friendly as possible. "You're Christopher, aren't you? I've been wanting to meet you but you never seem to be around." He cut his sandwich in half and offered some of it to the other boy. "We should talk. We're half-brothers, you know."

Christopher looked him over. "You know, I always thought you looked weirdly like my dad." He took the sandwich half Adrian offered him and they sat down at the kitchen table.

"I know it shouldn't be weird to hear other people refer to my dad as such," Adrian remarked. "He's had other relationships that have resulted in kids, but it's still really strange."

"Yeah, no kidding," Christopher nodded and took a bite of his sandwich. "So...are you a demon too? Like me?"

"Nope," Adrian shook his head. "Vampire-werewolf hybrid. The first hybrid of anything ever, apparently. Or at least the first hybrid of anything that people thought was actually noteworthy. These witches were chasing after my parents when my mom was pregnant because they wanted to kill me!"

"Why?" Christopher asked.

"Oh, I'm not sure," Adrian shrugged. "Something to do with the vampire/werewolf/witch power struggle or something."

"Did you ever feel like a freak?" Christopher asked, his voice low. "Cause sometimes I do. It's not as bad as it used to be, but it's still there."

"No, I never did," Adrian shook his head. "And I'm sorry _you_ do. Dad's not really the warm and fuzzy type. Is your mom not either? My mom is."

"My mom tries," Christopher replied. "Bless her for trying. But it's like she tries _too hard_ sometimes, you know? It's a bit overwhelming. I know she feels bad for sending me away, but let me take a breath from time to time for crying out loud!"

"You know, my wife was like that before we got divorced," Adrian told him. "In fact, she was _always_ like that, from the time we were kids! It was always 'wear your gloves!' 'Do your homework' 'Eat your vegetables'. I always ignored that last one."

"My gosh," Christopher scoffed. "She must've been really pretty for you to still be with her when she was so bossy." He sighed. "Not that I can criticize. Hannah doesn't always keep her mouth shut about stuff either."

"She's pretty," Adrian nodded. "And a stabilizing force in my life that I know I need. I just can't be married to her is all."

"Right," Christopher nodded. "I get it."

"Stick up for yourself with Hannah," Adrian advised. "Don't just let her stomp all over you. That...that never ends well."

"I can do that," Christopher assured him. "It's not a problem." He paused. "Next time I go see Mom and Dad, you wanna come? How long has it been since you've seen him? Or is there some bad history there?"

"No, there's no bad history," Adrian shook his head. "In fact, I probably _should_ visit. So just tell me next time you go and I'll come along."

"All right," Christopher smiled. "Great!" He held the sandwich up. "This is really good."

"Thanks!" Adrian replied. "Glad you like it. Gonna go back on my rounds now. Take care of yourself. We should talk again."

"Yes we should!" Christopher nodded and waved. "Good night!"

"Goodnight!" Adrian called back.

* * *

Adrian was sleeping soundly a few nights later when a loud, persistent ringing of the doorbell downstairs woke him up. He tried to ignore it and go back to bed, but it wouldn't stop. Finally, after punching his hand through the wall above his bed, he got out, not bothering to put anything on over his low slung boxers cause it was a warm night. As he left his room and headed down the hallway and to the door, he cursed his visitor under his breath. He would beat the crap out of them. He would.

But when he opened the door, he didn't get the chance to even get a word out before Toni grabbed him and kissed him deeply. She had one hand around his neck and the other slipped into his boxer shorts.

"What..." he asked. "Well, look who it is! Oh, yes, do that again!"

"Fuck me!" Toni whispered after breaking the kiss and licking his earlobe. "Fuck me now!"

"All right, all right," Adrian whispered back. "Can you wait for me to carry you to my room, or do you just want to do it in the hallway?"

She paused nibbling on his earlobe. "Take me to your room, but run!" She said.

So he did and as they both ripped off each other's clothes and threw them in a pile, Adrian said, "I hope you don't want me to rush this."

"Oh, no!" Toni shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Take your time. Unless you're having problems that you're not telling me about."

"Oh, bite your tongue!" Adrian told her as he cupped both sides of her face. "Or I will."

"No," She shook her head and grinned, pushing him against the wall and giving him a hand job while keeping her eyes on his face. "No, you won't."

He shut his eyes and felt himself relax into it, and as he opened his mouth to cry out while climaxed, Toni captured his mouth with hers. He pulled her close against him, his hands cupping her bottom as he nibbled on her neck.

"You really know how to do neck kisses," she said with a laugh. "I like that. It feels good."

"Good," Adrian told her. "That's good to hear." Then he picked her up and carried her to his bed, plopping her down and climbing in after her, his hands massaging her legs and thighs before he parted her legs and kissed up the warm skin of her inner thighs, making her tingle, which felt good enough. But then he began slowly but deftly pleasuring her with his tongue.

"Oh, jeez!" She whispered, her hips bucking forward as her toes curled under the sheets and her breath picked up. "Oh, geez. Good...good! More! Just a little bit more. There...there...yes!"

She let out a shout of laughter as she climaxed and then lay on her stomach so he could take her from behind, his warm, strong hands kneading the tension from her back as he planted soft kisses on her neck and shoulders.

"Good," she nodded. "That's good, keep doing that!"

Then he flipped her over and entered her again. "I want to look into your eyes at least once when I do this," he told her. "Your pretty, pretty eyes."

"You think my eyes are pretty?" She asked as he pushed into her.

"Of course," he nodded as she moaned. "You think I'd be able to do this if I didn't think you were pretty?"

"Well, desperation makes people do crazy things," Toni shrugged and then pulled him down so she could kiss him.

"I'm not that desperate," he confessed.

"I'm not either," Toni assured him. "I have _some_ standards, at least."

They went on for a little longer, then stopped to rest.

"Had enough?" He asked as he looked at her. "Did you get what you came for?"

"Oh, I think I did," Toni replied, playing with his hair. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Adrian said. He watched her get out of bed and dress and then handed her some money from his dresser.

"What are you giving me that for?" Toni asked. "I'm not a prostitute! You don't have to pay me!" She gave him a slap. "Just what kind of person do you think i am?"

"The money wasn't for that!" Adrian defended himself. "I know you're proud, but do you really want to spend the rest of your days in that flea bag hotel room? Don't you want to go some place nicer?"

"Yes, but I told you, I _can't_!" Toni said. "That's the issue!"

"Then why aren't you taking my money?" Adrian asked. "I'm really confused."

"I don't want to be paid for!" Toni replied. "All we are to each other is sex! You start paying for my stuff and that's a whole level beyond what we said we were!"

"Fine," Adrian sighed. "Pick your place and then I'll compel them to let you stay there as long as you want. That way, you can get a nicer place _and_ you don't have to take my money!"

"Seriously?" Toni asked. "I...I suppose I could do that. But I didn't know werewolves could control people's minds!"

"They can't," Adrian grinned, showing her his fangs. "I'm a vampire too."

Toni gasped, a slight shiver going down her back, her eyes wide. "Well that explains how you know your way around a neck." She paused. "Okay. So we'll do that hotel room thing. You meet me tomorrow and we'll find me a place?"

"Sure," Adrian nodded. "See you then."

After she got outside the door, though, he stopped her, holding her panties in his hand. They were surprisingly nice ones for a woman who said she was broke...black lacy ones. "You forgot these," he said and held them out to her.

"Keep them," she winked. "Something to remember me by."

* * *

"All right, I'm off on my evening rounds," Adrian announced to Lucifer and Ellie as he stopped by their bedroom the next night. "Anywhere in particular you want me to focus on?"

"I would say that room where the intruder usually comes in," Lucifer told him.

"Maeve can focus on that," Ellie interrupted and then looked at Adrian. "Why don't you pay extra attention to Lauren and Vincent tonight?"

"Now why would you want that, Eleanor?" Lucifer questioned. "Why focus on two people who are perfectly fine when our house is being invaded by-"

"I _want_ him to watch Lauren and Vincent," Ellie interrupted, her tone firm and her eyes vein-y and her teeth bared.

"All right, all right," Lucifer sighed. "I don't feel like fighting you, but if we get robbed tonight, let it be on your head, Eleanor!" He then caught Adrian's eye. "You know where you're going, right?"

Adrian nodded and made his way to Vincent and Lauren's room, and just as he was about to walk past their half open door, he heard them talking.

"I really miss her, Vincent."

"I know you do, Lauren, but you don't even know where she is! She might be dead for all you know!"

"But what if she's not?" Lauren returned, her voice rising. "Toni is my sister and I don't want our baby to miss knowing its aunt!"

Adrian froze, spun on his heel, then strode back to Vincent and Lauren's room, poking his head through the door. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Lauren told him. "What's up? We're fine. We didn't call for anyone."

"Oh, I know that," Adrian told her and let himself in the room. "I was just..I was doing my rounds and I heard you talk about your sister, Toni."

"Yeah," Lauren nodded. "She left _years_ ago. I miss her."

"What does she look like?" Adrian asked. "Long blonde hair like yours? Big eyes? Birthmark on her butt?"

"How...how do you know about her birthmark?" Lauren asked. "How do you know what she looks like?"

"Well, see...the woman who's been trying to get in the house here...she and I have been talking at my house and her name is Toni and she said she wasn't coming to rob us or anything, so...she might have been coming to look for you, and in short, I might be fucking your sister," Adrian got out, keeping his eyes on the floor cause he didn't want to see Lauren's face after _that_ confession.


	83. Sweet Revenge

"Adrian?" Vincent's voice was sharp and it brought Adrian's head up at last. "Adrian, say what you just said one more time."

"Oh," Adrian chuckled. "You mean the thing about my having sex with your sister? Well, I could be wrong, you know? There could be lots of blonde women around whose names are Toni and who have birthmarks on their butts. I didn't mean to worry you unnecessarily."

"Oh, I don't think it's unnecessarily if it's the same person who's breaking into our house," Vincent said.

"No, now...let's go with this whole 'mistake' theory," Lauren told him. "It can't possibly be Toni. I mean, what are the odds?"

"It wouldn't be completely strange if it _was_ her, though," Vincent remarked. "Why are you so intent on it not being true? I thought you would be over the moon to have your sister back."

"I love the idea, but...I'm hurt that she feels she has to break in," Lauren murmured, snuggling against Vincent. "If it's her, why doesn't she just come in and talk to me?" She looked appealingly at Adrian. "Do you know why? Has she told you?"

"No," Adrian shook his head. "When I see her, we don't talk a lot." He paused. "She must have her reasons, though. I'm sure she doesn't mean to hurt you."

"Well, yeah, but she _is_ hurting me!" Lauren exclaimed and began to tear up. "Do you know how much it hurts to realize the sister that you've missed for years and thought was dead is out there and alive and doesn't even want to see you?" She began crying on Vincent's shoulder. "Next time you see her, you better bring her here. I want to look her in the eye so I know you're not messing with me about this!"

"Lauren, I don't think we should do that yet," Vincent tried to reason with her. "If she's hiding, there's probably a good reason. Forcing her out now could ruin things for her. Maybe even put her in some sort of danger. It might be wiser to just wait until she comes to us."

"I'll talk to her about it next time see her, I promise," Adrian assured them both.

"And will that be soon?" Vincent questioned. "Cause I don't think Lauren has it in her to wait a million years."

"Are you seriously asking me that question?" Adrian asked. "We're having sex! It's not like we have it one day and then wait several days to have it again. Of course I'm gonna see her in a timely manner. For crying out loud!"

"Good, okay," Vincent nodded as Lauren took a deep breath and calmed down. "Talk to her about coming to see Lauren and when she gives you an answer, tell us what it is."

"All right," Adrian nodded. "I will." He then continued to stand at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed.

"What are you doing?" Vincent asked. "You can leave now. We're good."

"I don't know," Adrian shrugged. "Your mother specificially requested that I pay special attention to the two of you tonight, and when your father told her that he wanted me to do something else, she got snippy and showed her vampire face, so she won. I don't know what the hell it means to keep a close eye on you, but I don't want to see your mom's face if she catches me roaming around the house and I'm supposed to be in here instead."

"We'll cover for you with Mom," Vincent told him. "Just go along your way. It's unsettling to be stared at."

"Why don't you go see my sister?" Lauren suggested. "Go do it _now!_ "

"All right," Adrian shrugged and grinned. "Best thing I've been asked to do all day. Good night, you two."

"Good night," Vincent said.

"And thank you," Lauren added just before he closed the bedroom door to make his way back to his house, hoping that Toni wasn't waiting for him. Maybe she should have a key...that could be easier. It was something to think about.

* * *

"You don't need to come to the club with me again," Angelica told Valerie as they drove to the Underground. She wasn't coming to dance, but to check on how the preparations for the Earth Day benefit (or whichever benefit it was...she was doing so many) were coming along. "You're gonna be bored out of your mind!"

"Oh, I know I am," Valerie nodded. "But when I told Dad about what was going on with your powers, he accused me of using mine to take away your fan club. I told him it wasn't true, but he didn't believe me, so I want to see if it happens again."

"Well, okay, but don't cause any trouble," Angelica told her sister.

"I won't," Valerie sighed. "I'm not five, you know."

Angelica agreed to let her come in, but when they reached the club, she got nervous and changed her mind, locking her sister in the back seat.

"Hey!" Valerie cried and knocked on the windows. "That's a dirty trick! Let me out!"

"Not if you're gonna act like a child," Angelica told her smugly. "It'll just be easier for me to do this on my own."

Valerie glared at her, but Angelica didn't leave much time for gloating. She headed inside and went to find Roxie, hoping she wasn't busy again.

She went from place to place looking for Roxie and then turned around and let out a shriek when she bumped into her sister. "What the hell!" She asked after letting out a shriek. "I told you that you were supposed to stay _in the car_!"

"Well, have you ever known me to listen very well?" Valerie pointed out with a grin. "Or at all?"

"No, I haven't, which is why I locked in you!" Angelica remarked through gritted teeth. "How did you get out?"

"The locks on your car are complete crap," Valerie replied. "Think about getting new ones."

"Oh, you better believe I will." Angelica reassured her.

"Found Roxie yet?" Valerie wanted to know as she followed her sister throughout the club some more.

"Well, obviously not," Angelica snapped. "Don't you think I would be talking to her if I had?"

"If you haven't found her yet, let's get the experiment out of the way, shall we?" Valerie decided. "Sit down in a chair and we'll see who comes to hit on you and if they just leave after five minutes like they did last time."

"Why do we want to do that?" Angelica asked.

"So I can prove to Daddy that all that's going on with your powers is Grandpa's fault and not mine," Valerie reiterated. "I hate being blamed for things that aren't my fault!"

"And things happening that aren't your fault is such a rare occurrence," Angelica smirked.

"Oh, go sit down!" Valerie pointed at a chair.

Angelica sighed, wondering just where the heck Roxie was. Why was she never around when she needed her?

She sat in the chair while Valerie watched from a good distance away, pushing away people who came toward her as she watched. And then, just as had happened before, the people who were near Angelica would leave shortly after.

"See, I knew it!" Valerie proclaimed. "I _knew_ it wasn't my fault!"

"I could have just told Dad that for you," Angelica sighed and got up. "Are we done now?"

"Yes, fine..." Valerie told her. "Go look for Roxie. And if you run into that Sam Jr., don't get distracted by him. He's no good for you. You deserve better. Like a millionaire who wears suits and has a yacht. Not some low-life whose parents work at a bar."

"Hey!" Angelica was once again distracted from going to find Roxie, stung by her sister's words. "I'll admit that he's not always my cup of tea," she said, plopping down next to Valerie. "He refuses to dress neatly and has next to no manners most of the time, but he's not horrible and it's disrespectful of you to say that he is! Especially when you're dating a working man, you hypocrite!"

What they didn't know as they argued was that Sammy had come in just in time to hear Valerie's words, as well as Angelica's "I'll admit he's not my cup of tea." That was it. That was enough. He was tired of being put down by those two, especially Angelica. After all he'd done for her, all the kindness he'd shown, he couldn't believe she was still talking badly about him. And he thought _she_ was the nicer of the two.

But how to get his revenge? He'd have to think. But it would be good. She'd never speak another bad word about him when he was done with her.

* * *

Finally, Angelica was able to go find Roxie. They had their talk and she was able to see the progress being made on the benefit. Everything was on schedule and nothing was going wrong and that was just how she liked it.

She thanked Roxie and then turned to leave, and Roxie called after her, "You haven't tried to go to the main bathrooms, have you? Cause they flooded and if you have to go, the ones down the hall and to the left are the only ones that work."

"Oh, all right," Angelica replied. "Thanks for telling me." She left and decided to make a bathroom stop before she and Valerie headed back home. But as she walked toward the bathroom in her high heels, she saw a sign in the hallway: **Caution: wet floor.**

Making a note, she continued on her way, but one wrong step made her lose her balance, her ankle twisting as she let out a shriek and went flying into the wall, her head hitting the wall hard enough that everything went black.

Sammy cursed his luck as he approached Angelica's still body, walking carefully so he wouldn't slip on the wet floor as she had and go head first into the wall. He got down beside her, ignoring the water soaking into his dark jeans.

"Angelica? Angelica? Wake up! Are you okay?"

The wounds on her head healed and her eyes opened. He started to pick her up and thought that she would scold him for touching her, but she didn't. She just looked at him in wonder. "Who are you?" She asked him. "Where am I?"

"Seriously?" He asked. "You...you don't know who I am? Do you know who you are?"

"No," she said after a silence. "Do you?"

"I...yes," he grinned. his way to exact revenge popping into his head. God was real and for some reason, he seemed to be on Sammy's side and not his granddaughter's. What luck! "I'm Sam and you're Angelica. I can take you home to our house and everything will be clear."

"Okay!" Angelica smiled. "You're very good-looking, you know."

"Well, thanks," he told her. "I love it when you tell me that!"

"You don't have to carry me," she told him. "I think I can walk."

"I think I don't want to put you down until we're away from all this water," he informed her. "Someone really should mop all this up." He got her away from the wet hallway and to an empty room nearby where he finally saw what had most likely caused her to fall.

"My shoe is broken," she remarked.

"I see that," Sammy nodded and promptly broke the heel off the other one. "There. You should be able to at least hobble in them now."

"What did you do that for?" She asked, looking at him in shock. "I bet those were designer!"

"Yeah?" Sammy grinned. "Well...now they're practical."

"Oh, you!" She huffed. "I would just...how could you? How many other pairs of my shoes have you ruined?"

"Would you stop antagonizing me?" Sammy snapped. "I don't think you can really afford to piss off the only person you know right now."

"I'm sure that's an exaggeration," she said, smoothing out the skirt of her orange and black dress. "I'm sure I know lots of people!"

So after she went to the bathroom, he took her by the hand and brought her to the end of the hallway where they could look out into the main area without being seen. "Any of that seem familiar?" He asked, reaching his hand under his t-shirt to scratch his belly.

"No," Angelica replied, her heart sinking. "I don't know any of those people! They're all strangers!"

"Right, exactly," Sammy nodded. "I told you."

"What am I gonna do now?" Angelica asked. "How am I gonna remember everyone?"

"Here is what you're gonna do," Sammy told her. He went and grabbed a pen and note pad and shoved it in her hands. "You write a note saying that you and I have to work on something for this benefit you have coming up. (You have a lot of them so it won't be unbelievable.) Since it's happening soon, we just have to be holed up together for the next day or two in order to get it finished. And we can't talk to anyone else because we can't afford the distractions but you'll see them all after. You think you can do that?"

"Yes!" Angelica glowered at him in a way that was oh-so-familiar, wrote the note, and then they took it out and handed it to Valerie.

"That's so your parents know why she's not coming home and don't worry," he said.

"All right," Valerie nodded after looking it over. "I'll let them know." She then smiled at her sister. "Working hard as always of course. Why don't you give yourself a break and come with me to a wine-tasting tonight?"

"Nope, sorry," Sammy shook his head. "Can't do that. We'll be too busy."

"Why don't you let her answer?" Valerie questioned. Then she turned her gaze to her sister and waited.

Something in her look made Angelica nervous. She got close to Sammy and said and in a voice that she struggled to keep from shaking, "What he said. Too busy tonight. Can't party."

"See?" Sammy told Valerie. "There you go. Now that you have the note, we're going back to my place. See you tomorrow at the earliest, but it might be later, who knows?"

Then, before Valerie had time to ask more questions, he picked Angelica up and marched her out of the bar.

"Thanks for that," she said. "That woman just...she couldn't let things go, could she? She kind of scares me."

"Yeah, she scares a lot of people," he assured her, setting her down on her feet by his truck. "You're not the only one." He opened the truck door and saw the box in the passenger's seat.

"Oh, damn," he said. "Looks like you'll have to sit in the truck bed!"

"Is it safe?" Angelica asked nervously.

"Of course it's safe!" Sammy told her. "I wouldn't have you do it if it wasn't safe, would I?"

"I don't know," Angelica shrugged as he picked her up and placed her in the truck bed, his bulging arms making her feel things. "I should hope you wouldn't."

When she was settled, Sammy got in the car and began driving.

"Okay, talk to me," she said. "What happened before the accident?"

"Oh, you were probably just on the way to the bathroom after the latest shot-drinking competition you had with the waiters at the bar." He told you. "You do that a lot. No wonder you fell down and smacked your head."

"Are you saying that I make it a habit to get extremely drunk?" Angelica questioned. "That doesn't sound like me."

"Well, it's true," He said, grinning to himself. "It really makes me worry about you sometimes."

Not liking his answer to her first question, she opened her mouth to ask another one and felt something fly in it. She began coughing and spitting and leaned over the truck bed to gag.

"What's going on?" Sammy asked out the open window. "Are you okay?"

"I just ate a _bug_!" Angelica cried.

"Well, maybe you should keep your mouth closed then," he suggested while trying not to laugh. "There's a lot of things flying around out here."

That was a piece of advice that Angelica was glad to take. Her mouth didn't open again until she heard him say, "Welcome home, baby!"

Then she leaned over to get a better look at the place he referred to as 'home'. It was a small house, very log cabin-like and ramshackle in appearance, that Sammy and Leslie had made up together so he could have some privacy once in a while now that he was no longer a baby. It was near the lake where he liked to fish and he got a good view of sunrises and sunsets from the back porch. "Welcome to our palace."

"Oh, my god," she got out, feeling faint, and then sat back in the truck bed so she wasn't looking at the dwelling anymore. It didn't seem like something she'd want to live in at all. This can't be right, she told herself. I didn't do a very good job picking a boyfriend, did I?

"Are you sure this is our house?" Angelica asked. "What sort of a person would move here deliberately?"

"Hey, be nice!" Sammy told her and pulled her out of the truck. "I built this for you with my own two hands because you said the apartment was a dump!"

"This isn't much better," Angelica replied as she made her way into the tiny house cause she didn't have anywhere else to go and nearly fainting when she saw from the doorway how messy it was. "It really isn't." Then she sighed. "But I guess since I have nowhere else to go, I'll stay here with you in this...hovel."

"It's not as bad as it looks," Sammy told her and gave her a push inside. "You'll get used to it again."

She then shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "The Lord is testing me," she said to herself. "I can handle this."

That remark made Sammy chuckle because she probably had no idea how right she was. There had to be some sort of grandfatherly intervention going on, otherwise she wouldn't still have amnesia, healing from injury as fast as she normally did. He looked upward. "Thanks," he whispered. "I appreciate it."


	84. Hell Hath No Fury

"What do we do now?" Angelica asked as she walked through the small house. " _Please_ tell me that cleaning is an option."

"If you want to clean, you'll have to do it," Sammy said and spread out on the sagging sofa. "I don't mind it the way it is."

Angelica just scoffed at him and began picking up each thing on the floor, one by one. Sammy watched her as she moved around the room, a smirk on his face.

"What's so funny?" She asked. "I don't see what there is to laugh at."

"Oh, you're right," Sammy nodded. "I'm sorry." He continued to sit still until she kicked him.

"Help me clean this up!" She growled. "It's your house too!"

"If you don't want to clean, you could go and make me some food instead," he said. "I'm a bit hungry."

"I don't want to do that either," she huffed. "Do it yourself!" She paused. "Why do _I_ have to do everything?"

"Cause it's what you do normally," he shrugged. "I mean, I tried to help you before, but you always insist on doing it on your own. I just want to help you get your memory back."

"No," Angelica shook her head and dropped the clothes she held. "This is wrong. I feel it. Don't you think I feel it? Why are you _doing_ this to me?"

For a moment she looked so sad and desperate that he almost broke down and told her everything. But he stopped himself just in time. "Like I said," he repeated. "Doing what you normally do will help you get your memory back."

"Well, if all my memories of us are what you're describing, I might be blessed to have them blocked out," Angelica said and sat down on another one of the chairs. "I'm not cleaning and I'm not cooking for you. I won't. Not happening." She paused. "Unless you can tell me what's in it for me."

"Isn't that a bit selfish?" Sammy asked. "Not being helpful unless there's something in it for you?"

"You have nerve calling me selfish when you won't do a thing to help me," Angelica snapped. He opened his mouth again, but she barreled on. "I know that I may have said before that I didn't want your help with things, but now I do. You're going to help me clean this up, so get off your butt right now and do it!"

"No," he shook his head.

"Yes!" She yelled and kicked him. If he thought she would just demurely do whatever he said, he was sorely mistaken.

"Ow, damn it!" He swore and glowered at her. "What did you do that for? How do you expect me to clean when all I can do is hobble around?"

"Grow up!" She said. "I didn't hurt you that bad!"

Then Sammy had an idea that made a grin slowly curve his lips. She had amnesia! She had no idea who she was, or more importantly _what_ she was. So if he were to use his own magic, she would see it and it would probably make her wet herself with terror and agree to everything he said.

"All right," he said, striding up to her so they were chest to chest and close enough that their breaths mingled when they spoke. "I'll clean. By myself. But just this once."

"I'm watching you do it to make sure you do," Angelica told him. "I don't want you to be lying to me."

"Oh, go ahead and watch," he smirked. "Please." He then zapped the room clean and she let out a shriek. "How did you do that?" She asked, her eyes wide with terror. "Are you some sort of monster?"

"Well, no, but I can turn you into a frog pretty easily if I want to," he informed her. "And you don't want to spend the rest of your life as a frog, right? Wouldn't it be easier just to make me food?"

Angelica then let out a shriek and ran to lock herself in the bedroom, refusing to come out.

"Damn," Sammy whispered angrily. He hadn't realized she'd be _that_ scared of his powers.

* * *

It took some time to calm her down because his show of magic had really frightened her, but finally, Angelica agreed to make Sammy some food while he went to take a bath. As he relaxed into the warm water, he couldn't help but laugh to himself. Here _he_ was, she was doing everything for him...and the hard way, too! She had no idea that she had magic, and he was not in the mood to tell her. That wouldn't be any fun.

He was only able to relax a short while before the smell of smoke met his nose and he heard screaming.

"Oh, damn!" He swore, so desperate to see what was going on that he bounded out of the bathtub and didn't even put on a towel first.

He followed the sound of the screaming and found Angelica in the kitchen, freaking out over a fire on the stove.

"What the hell are you doing?" He cried. "You want to kill us both?"

Her head turned and even in her panic, the first words out of her mouth were, "Why aren't you wearing a towel?"

Ignoring that, Sammy smothered the flames, looking at a burnt lump in a pan on the stove.

"There's your food," she said. "Enjoy."

"You have magic, you know!" He called after her as she walked away. "You could have zapped something up! Something much prettier and tastier than this!"

That made her turn on her heel and stomp back over to him, slapping his face. "Are you kidding me? I have magic and you didn't think to mention it until just now? You threatened me with becoming a frog when it's not even something I should be scared of? Why do I even _like_ you? Why are we even _together_?"

"I'm usually much nicer than this, I promise," Sammy swore.

"Well, I should hope so, because now you seem like giant asshole!" Angelica yelled. "So...I'm a witch."

"Yeah, and a vampire too," Sammy added and went to get some blood out of the fridge. "I don't know if you've fed today. You might want to have some of this just to be sure."

Angelica looked at the bag and, sure enough, felt a tingling sensation in her teeth and the feeling of them lengthening. "You know, you're right," she said and pulled him close, knocking the bag to the floor. "But you owe me for tricking me like that. I don't want anything from a stupid bag. I want it right from the vein. From you." She could hear the rush of blood in her ears, and smiled as his breath picked up while her teeth edged closer and closer to his neck. She didn't remember ever doing this before, but it felt like she was doing something right.

He let out a cry as she held him tight and sank her fangs into him, loving the feeling of the warm blood going down her throat. She drank for a little bit and then finally let him go.

"Good?" He asked, trying not to wince.

"Good enough," She replied. "Do I have anything on my mouth?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Just a little..come here..."

She came toward him and he gently licked off the bit of blood that stained her face.

"There," he said. "All clean."

"Good," she told him. "I don't like to be dirty, you know."

"What a shame," he whispered as she walked away, her hips moving in a way he really liked. "We're going to have to change that."

* * *

That night, just as the sun was going down, Angelica dragged herself to the only bedroom in the small cabin, locked herself in it, and collapsed on the bed. It was nice to have time to herself for a while. To have peace and quiet. She couldn't have two seconds to herself because Sammy was always at her shoulder asking her to do this or that. It was a _nightmare._ Sure, he was cute, but maybe it would be best to break up with him once she had her memory back. She couldn't take much more of this.

She lay on the bed, taking several deep breaths in and out, and just when she felt herself calm down, the door opened.

"Here you are!" Sammy cried. "I was hoping this is where you would be! And it's so good you had the idea first because with your memory loss and all, I thought it would be weird for me to bring it up."

"Bring what up?" Angelica asked. Then she looked on in horror as he began undressing. "What are you doing? Keep your clothes on!"

"But why?" He asked, throwing his jeans and boxers aside before coming to join her in bed. "It's sex time! You wouldn't believe how many miles we've put on this mattress! If anything will bring your memory back, it's that! And you said I was cute before!"

"Well...stand up." He obliged and her eyes roamed over his body, drinking in every handsome inch. She then hopped off the bed and held out her arms. "Undress me," she ordered.

"No," He said, taking her in his arms. "Not yet. It's too fast." He then began kissing her neck, and she shut her eyes as he worked his way down, moving some of her sleeve aside to kiss her bare shoulder. Then he stopped as he felt little tremors go throughout her body.

"Are you all right?" He asked. Her breathing had picked up and her cheeks were flushed pink.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I just...I have shivers." She backed away to try and get a hold of herself. "I need to catch my breath. Please go sit on the bed." He did and she was full of relief. Something wasn't quite right about him. And she didn't want to make a mistake.

Instead of sitting on the bed, Sammy stood beside it and held onto the bed post, watching her as her breath slowed down. Then he strode across the room and grabbed her hand, gently massaging her palm until she looked up at him.

"What do you want from me?" She asked. "Do you want to take off my clothes and have your way with me? Is that what you want?"

"I do want you," he said, pulling her to him and kissing her soundly, her mouth, her cheeks, her forehead, and down her neck.

Then turned around. "I'm going to need you to unzip me," she said in a quiet voice.

He did so and watched with bated breath as she kicked off her shoes and peeled off her dress, standing before him in her underwear. "You take off the rest," she whispered, blushing ever so slightly again.

So he got on his knees and he peeled off her panties. After she kicked those aside, he got her bra off and held her waist, swirling his tongue around her belly and kissing her stomach before closing his lips around her erect nipples and sucking on them gently.

"Oh, geez," she whispered, fingers running through his spiky hair. She felt warm and tingly. Much more of his and she was going to explode. "That's good. You're driving me crazy!"

"Well, that's payback, isn't it?" He asked, stopping to stand up, take her in his arms and kiss her neck. "You drive me crazy too."

She gasped when she felt his teeth graze her. "I do?" She asked. "Really?"

"Yes!" He nodded. "You do!"

She then gave an awkward laugh and began babbling about nothing.

After a couple of minutes of this, he grabbed her face in his large hand, squishing her cheeks. "Stop talking. You don't need to do that. Don't you think it's time you used your mouth for other things?"

Angelica grinned, her finger going down his neck after moving his hand from her face. "Like what?" She asked. "Please demonstrate."

"All right," he nodded and kissed her deeply again and again. After the third time, he picked her up and carried her to bed, her legs wrapped around his waist, until his legs bumped the side of the bed and he dropped her onto the mattress before climbing in bed after her. They continued to make out, and she even let him get as far as pleasuring her with his tongue, but after she climaxed, she put a stop to it.

"I know we're naked," she said. "And I know it's probably not nice of me to stop you now, but...wouldn't it be better for us to wait until I actually remember you before we have sex? I know it would be better for _me_."

"Yeah," Sammy sighed. "I guess. I suppose we can wait."

"Thanks for understanding," she smiled at him. "I appreciate it. And who knows? It might not even be that long to wait. My memory could come back tomorrow for all we know."

"I hope so," Sammy replied as they turned off the lights, pulled the covers over themselves, and went to bed. "That would be nice."

"Yeah," Angelica nodded. "One day of this is more than enough for me, thanks."

He smiled and kissed her forehead as he pulled her body close. "I love you, Angelica," he told her. "And...I'm sorry for what happened to you."

"Thank you," she returned and snuggled against him. "You know, you can be awfully charming when you wanna be. And I like it."

* * *

The next morning, Angelica's eyes opened before Sammy's did and as she got out of bed, she whacked her head against hard wooden headboard. As she let out a whispered "Damn!" And rubbed at the bump, it all began flooding back to her. Every thought, feeling, memory that made her Angelica. And she was angry. She looked at Sammy's still sleeping form and gave his body a shove that sent him sliding of the bed and onto the floor.

"What? What's going on?" He sat up and found Angelica glaring at him, her arms crossed, her body covered by his t-shirt. "What?" He repeated. "No good morning kiss?"

"The only thing I want to do with your mouth now is give you a big fat lip!" She yelled and shook her fist at him as her eyes glowed red. "You asshole, you jerk, you lowlife _scumbag_! I know we've had our differences, but I didn't think that you hated me so much that you would take advantage of me when I needed help the most! I had no memories of _anything_ at all and you made me cook and clean, and thank _Grandpa_ we didn't sleep together otherwise I would _kill_ you."

"So you remember now," he told her. "You said last night that you might."

"You're damn right I remember!" She agreed. "And I think I deserve an apology!"

" _You_ deserve an apology?" Sammy scoffed. "I think I deserve one too for you calling me a slob with no manners. You're just as rude and snobby as your sister, who doesn't think I'm good enough because my parents work at the bar!"

"You overheard that conversation?" Angelica put her hands on her hips. "Did you happen to hear the part where I stuck up for you and told my sister she was rude and that her remarks were uncalled for? Or did you miss it?"

"I..." Sammy's jaw dropped. "You said that to her? You stuck up for me?"

"Yeah," Angelica scoffed. "And now I wonder why since you're so ungrateful. Don't worry. I won't ever do it again. You can rot in hell for all I care." She then zapped on some clothes and strode off, ignoring his shouted apologies and making a mental note to have a _serious_ talk with her grandfather. Cause she deserved better than this, His plans be damned.


	85. Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Since Toni made a pattern of coming around at the same time every night, Adrian made a special point to wait for her, even at the expense of other people in his very limited social life.

"The time she usually shows up was an hour ago," Kai called to complain to him early one morning. "Can't we do something? You've been so obsessed with her!"

"You want to do something at one in the morning?" Adrian questioned. "Are you crazy?"

"Well, if that's the only time I can see you, then it'll have to be," Kai responded. "Come to my room. We can watch a movie or something."

"No, I can't go back there yet," Adrian replied.

"Why not?" Kai asked.

"Cause I shot off my mouth to Vincent and Lauren about how involved Toni and I were and now she's not showing up anymore," Adrian sighed. "It figures. The one time I meet a woman who's all sex and no commitment, she leaves without explaination after only a little bit. I just can't have nice things, can I?"

"Oh, yes," Kai said. There was laughter in his voice, but it was quiet laughter. "I can imagine how humiliating it must be to have gone on and on about that relationship only to have it be gone now. Why do you think that is? What did you do to her? Or what _didn't_ you do? Did you fall down on the job and disappoint her?"

"I did no such thing!" Adrian snapped. "And shut up!"

"Hey, I'm trying to help you figure out why she would just want you one day and not show up for the next several days after," told him. "Don't bite my head off."

"I don't need that kind of help!" Adrian told him. "She's human. Maybe she got the flu or something. In that hotel she's staying at, it's highly possible she caught a bug or a parasite cause it's so gross."

"I thought you and she agreed to go find her a nicer one," Kai pointed out.

"We did," Adrian sighed. "But then she chickened out at the last minute and said she was more comfortable paying for stuff herself and that was when I decided not to argue with her anymore. If she wants to stay in a place like that, that's her problem. But I'm still going to go check up on her, no matter how much it pains me to go back to that hell hole."

"All right, you do that," Kai agreed. "Are you going to go now, or will you wait until tomorrow?"

"Might as well go now," Adrian said. "No use in waiting. And if she's still there, I'll probably convince her to come back with me."

"Good luck," Kai told him. "I hope you find her. And I hope she hasn't left you."

"Thanks," Adrian said. "Me too."

* * *

He then hung up and got dressed, getting in his car and driving to the hotel where Toni was staying. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to go in and make his way up to Toni's room. He stood outside the door and knocked, but got no answer. He knocked again and knocked again and finally, after getting no response, just decided to open the door and go in. She couldn't say that he hadn't been polite.

He burst in, but found that the room was empty of things. No one was there. "Toni?" He called. "Toni, where are you?" He began doing a more thorough search of the room, even in places where she wouldn't possibly be, like the closet or under the bed. Then, as he finished looking under the bed, a cream colored piece of paper fluttered to the floor by his hand. Curious, he picked it up and read it.

 _Adrian,_

 _I know I haven't been to your house in a bit, but it's because I had to go somewhere and do something. It has nothing to do with you, I promise. I hope you don't take this too personally. I enjoyed our time together. It was nice to finally make a connection with someone and I hope to be back and continue it soon, if you'll have me._

 _Toni_

Adrian read the note several times and then crumpled it up in his fist before throwing it in the trash. Of course she'd left. He had no idea why he'd expected anything else. At least he had his answer. That was the only good thing about all this. He had his answer and he could get out of here and go to bed.

* * *

"You're back very quickly," The Dragon observed as Toni stood in front of her, appearing unannounced much sooner than she expected. "In my experience, that's either a very good thing or a very bad thing. Which is it, Antonia?"

"Well," Toni's breathing was ragged and her cheeks were red. "It's not as bad as you might think. "I can get this done. It's just that things happened and I need some time to regroup!"

"I'm very disappointed in you!" The Dragon snapped and brought a whip down on Toni's arm. "I trained you to be ruthless and efficient. Not to _fail_ your first time out! What could have gotten the better of you?"

"Well, he didn't exactly get the better of me," Toni explained. "Not in the way you might expect. I kicked his ass for sure. It's just that there were other things...kind of..."

The Dragon sighed. "No," she shook her head, which was starting to hurt. "Not emotional things. You're not in love, are you?"

"No," Toni scoffed. "Of course not! What do you take me for?"

"I don't want to be taking you for a fool," The Dragon told her. "I devoted too much time to you for you to fail at this. Whatever's happened, erase it from your mind. Focus on the real issue. You _do_ still remember why you wanted to learn all this in the first place?"

"Yes," Toni replied. "I want to destroy the Devil and his kin for destroying my family. That's my goal, That's my mission. I haven't forgotten it, and it will be done. What distracted me changes nothing!"

"I should hope not!" The Dragon narrowed her eyes. "But before you go, I want you to run through your exercises for me so I can see if we need to work on anything to put you in top shape."

"All right," Toni nodded, kind of relieved that she didn't just have to leave and risk running back to Adrian. "Get out the stuff and let's do it!"

* * *

 _That night, perhaps because he missed Toni so much, she was in Adrian's dreams. He was in wolf form, running through the woods at night, under the full moon, a cool breeze floating around him, when all of a sudden, he stopped still, looking up to see her, standing tall and proud and beautiful, in the middle of the forest, her feet bare and her blonde hair flying in the wind, down for a change. And it was longer in his dream too. Not as long as Lauren's, but long enough to get his fingers in._

 _He looked up at her and nudged her with his snout, just as she had before, then nudged her again, a little harder this time, knocking her to the ground. She fell without injury, and was in fact, grinning at him as he loomed over her, taking her dress in his teeth and ripping it away from her body._

 _"Thanks," she said. "I was getting sick of wearing that thing..." Then, to his surprise, she changed, into a wolf, just like him. They ran around the woods and were soon going at it in true animal fashion._

 _But then the loud croak of a frog broke the illusion and the woods were gone and all he saw was a dark room as he realized he wasn't alone in bed._

Adrian was shocked to wake up with a warm body wrapped around his. He pulled himself free and went to turn on the light, breathing a sigh of relief for a moment when he saw it was only Toni.

"Turn off the light," she groaned before burying her face in her pillow. "Some of us are trying to sleep here!"

"Not until you tell me why you've been gone so long!" Adrian demanded. "I've been waitinf for you every night. I looked for you at that flea bag hotel, but they said you'd gone. I know we decided we weren't going to put a lot of emotion into our relationship, but I think I deserve more than to just suddenly be abandoned!"

That made Toni sit up. "Oh, don't be such a baby," she said and came over to grab his face and kiss him roughly. She then tried to pull away, but he cupped her bottom and pulled her close in a grip that was like iron. "I was going to come back. I know I should have told you that you'd have to be without your daily sex for a little while, but I was gonna come back! You could have waited a few days, right?"

Adrian frowned deeper and bared his teeth, a soft growl escaping his throat that made Toni strangely aroused. "Do I look like I could have waited a few days?" He asked, giving her butt a squeeze and then turning her around to follow that up with a spanking, then pulled her to him from behind. "Answer me! And while you're telling truths, admit that you're Lauren's sister, too. I know that. No use in hiding it anymore."

Toni had looked vaguely irritated before, but now she looked angry. "All that is none of your business," she spat as she got out of bed and began pulling on her jeans and socks. "I came here hoping we could have fun and not talk business at all, but you ruined that. I hope you're proud of yourself."

"It's good you're leaving because I wouldn't be able to concentrate, knowing that you're probably thinking of hurting my boss or my boss's family," Adrian said. "That's what you're up to, right?"

"Again, not telling you anything," Toni repeated. "It's none of your damn business. It has nothing to do with you."

"You're coming here to enact a plan that could affect my livelihood and it's none of my business?" Adrian asked. "That's where I think you're wrong."

"Oh, don't even pretend like you struggle to feed yourself every day," Toni scoffed. "You _can't_ really know what that's like when you and I both know you can pull wads of money out of thin air."

Adrian opened his mouth and then shook his head. He should have known that was a bad can of worms to open. He should have just stayed with the 'I hate that you're attacking my boss's family' thing. He stared at her angrily, which made her grin.

"What? No response to that?" She asked. "You have nothing to say, do you? Cause I'm right and you're wrong." Then she smiled. That smug, know it all smile that he _hated._

It made him stride up to her and push her down on the bed, but she wasn't down for long. "Don't you push me!" She yelled, giving him a slap, and then when he tried to grab her, she bit him.

"Oh, you, little...!" Adrian cried and pulled her hair, holding it so her neck was exposed as he held her against his body with her other hand. Her breathing picked up as she felt his warm breath on her neck. "Not so smug now, are you?" He whispered in her ear.

"Do it!" She whispered. "Go ahead and bite me! I'm not afraid!"

And for a few seconds, he hesitated, then bit down, drinking from her for just a little while before pulling her close and kissing her deeply.

"You know," she said when they pulled apart, "I feel a little drowsy."

"Do you?" He asked, unzipping her jeans and cupping her butt. "Maybe you shouldn't be driving anywhere. Maybe you should stay here with me." He took her hand and kissed the palm and fingers before she slid one of _his_ into her mouth and sucked on it gently while giving him a look of challenge.

He didn't last much longer after that. He picked her up and tossed her onto the mattress where she landed with a gentle bounce. He peeled off her jeans, glad she wasn't wearing any underwear underneath them, and kissed up her inner thighs before pleasuring her with his tongue, grinning to himself when he thought he heard a whispered "Oh, _Adrian!_ " just before she climaxed.

Then she grabbed his hands and pulled him up a bit. Noticing she still had some blood on her neck, he licked it off and then kissed her deeply, his fingers ruffling her hair as her legs parted and he buried himself inside her over and over again while he held her close, so grateful for the warmth of her body.


	86. Stay A Little Longer

When they were both exhausted, Adrian and Toni fell asleep, and in the morning, Toni got up and got dressed, planning to grab some coffee and whatever she might find in Adrian's fridge to eat before she left. But as she was leaving, she tripped and fell and Adrian, his eyes still closed, spoke.

"Are you okay? Where are you going? I hope you weren't just gonna head out without saying 'Goodbye'."

"Well, you know I have to go and I didn't want to wake you up after the big workout we had last night," Toni replied. "I bet you're exhausted."

That was when Adrian's eyes opened and he sat up. "Sure, I'm a bit tired," he said with yawn. "But that doesn't mean you have to just leave. What's the rush? I like having you here."

She cleared her throat. "Well, the rush is that we weren't gonna have this be serious. That it's more of a business thing. And that means we have sex at night and then part in the morning and live our own lives...right?" But she gazed at him, uncertain of her own words.

"Get back here," Adrian grinned and patted the empty space on the bed beside him. "Get undressed again and come back here. It doesn't always have to be so businesslike. Let yourself take a break just this once? Please?" His eyes got big and his full lips turned into a pout.

"Well...well, okay..." she said and swallowed again while cursing herself for how weak she'd become before running back into his bed where he grabbed her and kissed her soundly. "But only this once. No making a habit of it."

He ended the kiss and then she waited for him to make a move on her again, but she didn't. "I thought we were gonna have more sex," she said at last. "Isn't that why you wanted me to come back here and be naked?"

"No, not necessarily," Adrian shrugged. "I just wanted to spend more time with you and I thought you would be more comfortable without all that horrible clothing on. We can just talk if you want."

" _You'll_ have to do all the talking if this is another way to get information from me about what I want in your boss's house," Toni told him.

"Speaking of, your sister wants to see you," Adrian continued. "And she's very hurt that you feel the need to break in instead of just coming to talk to her directly."

"How did you find that out?" Toni questioned. "My sister's deaf. Do you know sign language?"

"No, but actually she's not deaf anymore," Adrian replied. "She almost died, but...her life was saved and now she's _not_ deaf."

"What do you mean 'her life was saved and now she's not deaf'?" Toni questioned and gave Adrian a shake. "You can't just tell me something that amazing and then stop there!"

"Well, I don't know if I should tell you more because you might not like what you're going to hear," Adrian replied. "You wanna start?"

"No," Toni shook her head and started to get out of bed. "If you're not gonna answer my question, I'm leaving!"

But Adrian quickly reached out for her wrist and pulled her back while massaging her inner wrist with his thumb. "Well I don't want that. So why don't _I_ talk now, just like you want? As you know, I'm a hybrid: half vampire and half-werewolf. I had a weird childhood. My parents were kind of hands off. I was left mostly to my own devices, but not in a bad way, and I walked in on them having sex more times than I would care to admit." He shuddered. "I was an only child until I turned thirteen and then my younger sister was born-"

"When did the werewolf bite you?" Toni asked, giving him a shy smile as she moved to rest her head on his chest. "And the vampire? Sorry to bring it up, but I have to know, even if they must've been traumatic moments for you."

"Actually, it wasn't really," Adrian shrugged. "I mean, I know with the way humans view werewolves and vampires and the transformation process, you'd think it would be, but I was born this way."

"You were?" Toni's jaw dropped a little. "No one bit you and turned you?"

"Nope," Adrian shook his head. "Mom's a vampire and a werewolf, Dad's both too, and I came out the same way." He paused. "Well, I take that back: you have to kill someone to become a werewolf and that happened when I was five, but Mom knew the witch who created werewolves and she delayed the process until I was a teenager. Appropriate, don't you think?" He grinned, one side of his mouth up.

"You killed someone when you were _five?_ " Toni swallowed nervously.

"You don't have to be afraid," Adrian told her, running his fingers down her neck. "I wouldn't kill you now. But when you're a kid it's harder not to because you have no self-control and though my mom and uncle tried to get me on that good path and keep me there, Dad didn't exactly help them cause he was having too much fun being the devil on my shoulder."

"But you wouldn't say you had a _terrible_ childhood, would you?" Toni questioned.

"Not terrible, no," Adrian shook his head. "But definitely not typical. I should have you meet my mom sometime. I think you'd like her."

"Really?" Toni asked in surprise. "Do you think she'd like me? Or is she anti-human?"

"No," Adrian shook his head. "She doesn't really orchestrate people's lives, you know, tell them what to do. If they do what makes them happy, that's good enough for her."

"Then that would be nice to meet her," Toni said and kissed his stomach. "I'd like to be around a family again. It's been awhile. What does your mom like to do?"

"Well, she bakes," Adrian replied. "A lot. And knits. And hunts." He got up and got a gray and black sweater out of his closet. "She made this for me."

"Did you ever help her?" Toni asked. "With any of that?"

"No, at least not much when I was a kid," Adrian shrugged. "I thought it was too much of a 'girl' thing. Especially the baking."

"Now see, I never would have thought that," Toni grinned. "Before things went bad with me and my parents, I would wake up with Dad and make pancakes for everyone on Sunday mornings. It was nice. I miss it. I wish I could have done it one last time before my parents died. It would have been nice feeling like I was actually the daughter they wanted. I mean, they liked me when I was little, but it didn't seem to be the case as I grew up. I never understood what I did wrong." She sniffled and then got up. This was getting to be too much. She'd said enough.

"All right, I gotta get dressed and go," she told him. "Thanks for letting me stay the night."

"If you're leaving again, it better be for breakfast," Adrian told her as she started to try and exit the bed again. "And even if you _are_ leaving for breakfast, it would be easier just to stay. I make a mean omelette."

"You cook...seriously? You got over your hang-up about cooking being girly and learned?" Toni questioned. "I still am wrapping my head around the fact that vampires actually _eat_."

"They don't need to, but I do," Adrian shrugged. "Mom says it's good to know when you have human friends."

"How old is your mom?" Toni questioned as she dressed and then threw a shirt at him. "Is she ancient?"

"You wouldn't think it to look at her, but she's been around," Adrian replied. "So...am I making one omelette or two?"

"Oh, what the hell," Toni grinned. "Two." She was a bit nervous cause she still didn't know how well he could cook, or even if he could, what he would make would be edible, but it was too intriguing not to take the opportunity to see when it was offered to her.

"What do you want on it?" Adrian asked after dressing and following her out to the kitchen before getting out the eggs. "Cheese, peppers, ham, sausage...anything?"

"Pepper, onions, and cheese," Toni decided. "And you know, why don't you let me help?"

"Do you know how to crack an egg?" Adrian asked.

Toni didn't know what made her do it, but she grabbed an egg, smiled, cracked it over his head, and then said, "Yeah, I do. See?"

"Well, let me see if I can do what you did," Adrian grinned, much to Toni's surprise. He cracked an egg over her head and she let out a shriek and a giggle before turning on the sprayer on the sink and pointing it right at him, soaking him to the skin.

"What did you do that for?" He asked, pulling her against him, and getting water on her too.

"Is it _my_ fault I was curious to see what you look like in a wet t-shirt?" She wanted to know, licking her lips as she looked him over. The wet shirt was definitely clinging to him.

"Oh, no," Adrian shook his head and chuckled, his lips against her ear as he whispered. "I know what I look like. Why do you think I like being naked so much?"

Toni shrugged. "I just thought you were weird."

"I am not weird!" Adrian shook his head. "Just for that, I'm eating _both_ omelettes!"

"You're kidding, right?" Toni asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Adrian nodded and gave her a wink. "But I really...I really _would_ like your help making them."

"Sure," Toni replied and began rooting around in the cupboards for ingredients. Then, when she got back with her armload, she saw that the eggs weren't even cracked. "You're falling behind," she told him. "What's going on?"

"Sorry," Adrian apologized and began cracking eggs. "I was distracted by your butt."

"Yeah," Toni scoffed and after confirming her omelette was being made first, dropped in the cheese, and much more deftly than Adrian expected, chopped up the peppers and onions and dropped them in too. "Of course you were."

* * *

After they finished breakfast, Adrian prepared himself to watch Toni go out the door. And she did. Or at least she got _to_ the door and paused with her hand on the handle, still smiling at the fact that he had egg yolks in his hair. Then she said, "You know, I don't really feel like going anywhere today. I've already stayed for breakfast, so why not make a day of it, if that's all right with you?"

"Sure," Adrian shrugged, trying not to appear too enthusiastic in case it would scare her off. "You wanna watch TV or something?"

"Yeah," Toni nodded. "If you'll watch it with me. But first, you should wash your hair. You're covered in egg."

"Oh, I know," he said. "I know. You can go after me." He wanted to suggest they shower together, but then realized it would be too much too fast, probably. He went to shower and when he came back, he was wearing only his boxers. "I hope you don't mind that I just wear my underwear around the house if I have nowhere else to be."

"That's fine," Toni nodded and did the same after she finished her own shower. "Hope you don't mind me following suit."

"Fine with me," Adrian shrugged. "Go ahead. I wouldn't want you to feel over-dressed."

"Wanna watch a movie?" Toni asked. "I can make the popcorn if you pick the movie."

"You don't mind action films, do you?" Adrian questioned.

"Mind them?" Toni grinned widely. "I love them! I don't care which one you pick! Surprise me!" She then ran into the kitchen and Adrian grinned to himself.

As they watched _Die Hard,_ Toni scarfed down popcorn at such a rate that the bowl was nearly empty ten minutes into the film.

"I'll go make more," she said and got off his lap. Then she got distracted by the doorbell and ignoring Adrian's protests not to opening it because it was probably just his friend who would go away soon, opening the door to find two nicely dressed strangers staring back at her. The woman had big blue eyes, was wearing a hot pink and white stripped dress, and was clutching a large casserole.

"Mom?" Adrian asked, coming up behind Toni and staring open-mouthed.

"Oh, my god!" Toni immediately blushed scarlet and went to grab a blanket. She couldn't believe she was in her underwear in front of Adrian's mother!

"It's okay," Selina assured her. "You don't have to be embarrassed. It's happened to me before too. And your underwear is cute. Where'd you get it?"

"I..." Toni paused and looked down at the pink underwear and bra she was wearing. "I got it from a friend."

"Oh, how nice!" Selina smiled.

"Can we come in?" Dorian questioned Adrian. "I'm sure your mother is getting tired of holding up the casserole dish."

"Or if your busy, we can just give this to you and come back for it once you're finished with it," Selina countered. "Whichever works better for you. It doesn't matter."

"No, you can come in," Adrian said. "We're just watching _Die_ _Hard_. We can pause it until later and chat."

When they were all settled with drinks, the casserole dish was in the fridge, and a still-embarrassed Toni was covered in a blanket, Adrian spoke to his mother: "What brings you here, Mom? Was the casserole just a convenient excuse to come over cause you wanted to talk to me about something else?"

"No," Selina shook her head. "I thought it would help you get over Molly, but..." she cast a glance at Toni. "Clearly you've already done that."

Dorian's eyes landed on Toni as well, but unlike his wife, he could clearly see how embarrassed the poor girl was. He had to do something to rectify that.

"Hi," he said, coming over to her, sitting down, and speaking in his friendliest voice. "I'm Dorian. Sorry Selina's been so impolite and not introduced us. I would ask if you were the monster Adrian talked about struggling with an attraction for last time we spoke, but he couldn't _possibly_ have been talking about you. You seem too nice." He grinned and held out his hand, which she took. "What's your name?"

As Toni looked into the man's warm dark eyes, she finally felt herself start to relax for the first time since he and Adrian's mother had come in the door. She would have felt offended by Adrian telling other people she was a monster, but in a way, he sort of had a point up until now. A very small point, but a point nonetheless. "I'm Ton-Antonia," she finished. It felt more fitting to give the full name she'd always hated to this glamorous stranger.

"Antonia," he grinned. "What a lovely name."

"Thanks," Toni gave a small smile. "It was my grandmother's. I never really liked it."

"You should," he told her. "I think it suits you."

"Antonia," Adrian smirked. She couldn't believe he'd been listening. "I can't believe your name is _Antonia_!"

"Don't you laugh!" Toni cried, pulling the red plaid blanket closer around her body. "Didn't you hear Dorian say it was a nice name? You don't hear me say Adrian is a stupid name, do you?"

"No!" Adrian quickly backpedaled. "I think Antonia's an adorable name!"

"Damn right," Toni insisted, her chin thrust forward.

"Son, I think we need to talk," Selina told Adrian firmly before he could speak again. "Meet me in the kitchen, please?"

"Fine," Adrian huffed and rolled his eyes. He was a grown man. he didn't need a lecture from his mother.

They reached the kitchen and Selina told him in a low voice, sounding a bit shocked. "You've taken up with a _human_? That surprises me. Good thing she seems to be able to handle you."

"Okay, I haven't _taken up_ with her," Adrian corrected in the same low voice. "We're just casual. She comes by at night and we have sex. You just happened to walk in on the one day she decided to stay for breakfast and watch TV with me."

Selina just shook her head, a bark of laughter escaping her lips, her voice full of amusement. "You can call it what you want, but you don't come from people who _do_ casual," she said. "I mean, when your dad and I first met, that's what we said. We said it was gonna be casual, we'd sleep with whoever we wanted, no strings, whatever. And yet, guess who was really pissed off when I got out of my Lonely Heart funk thanks to your Uncle Elijah and left them both to go back to America. Yeah, that would be _your dad_!" She paused and barreled on, her voice picking up a little. "Then when I found him and tried to apologize later, he wiped my memory of our whole relationship. I didn't remember the twenties for _years._ And there were some other minor fits he had about it too but the mind-wiping after I left was the big one."

"Well, I'm not Dad!" Adrian reminded her. "I'm much more reasonable. I've been accused of hating people. I've hardly had _any_ successful relationships...this is not gonna go beyond us being friends with benefits. I don't see it that way, and she doesn't either."

"Yeah, sure," Selina grinned and patted his arm. "Oh, don't give me that crap," she said in a sweet voice. "I know you too well for you to trick me like that. Why don't we go back to the living room now? And don't you make fun of her name. It's not nice."

Just then, Dorian entered the kitchen. "Everything okay in here?" He asked. "No problems?"

"We were just talking about how Adrian's more than a little attracted to Toni, but doesn't want to admit it," Selina told him before Adrian let out a groan of frustration. "Apparently, they just want to keep things _casual."_

"And why have it any other way?" Dorian played along, his grin matching his wife's. "She's a monster, after all."

"Stop it right now," Adrian flushed, his cheeks bright pink. "Can we just go back to the living room now?" Selina agreed and they went back into the living room where he switched places on the sofa with Dorian and sat next to Toni himself, ignoring his mother's grin as Toni snuggled against him. "Whatever."


	87. Ready To Rebel

"Can I ask you a favor, Dexter?" Angelica wanted to know of the demon who usually spent more time with her dad and sister than he did with her.

"Sure," he said. "Can I...can I get you anything?"

"No, no, it's not that," Angelica smiled. "Go ahead and sit. It's nothing you can do for me. But something I can do for _you_."

"Oh?" Dexter raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

"I'm doing a calendar to raise money to buy the local fire department a new truck," she explained. "Every month is gonna be a picture of a different good-looking guy. Would you like to take part?"

"Me, really?" Dexter asked. "Sure! I mean, I think I'm fit enough. Valerie's got me jogging every day. Maybe I should show it off."

"Good," Angelica smiled. "Thanks. I hope you're not nervous. You have no reason to be."

"I'm not," Dexter grinned back. "I'm ready to do this. I bet Valerie will buy one of those calendars."

"Yep," Angelica nodded, grinning widely. "And probably all the extra prints of your pictures, too."

"Can I tell her?" Dexter asked. "I really want to."

"Go ahead," Angelica nodded. "But remember that if she gets mad, it's your choice and you can still do it if you want to."

"I don't think she'll object," Dexter shook his head. "She's always urging me to do stuff like this." He paused. "Although, now that it's not for her eyes only, she might object, but like you say, it's my choice and I want to do it."

"Good luck," Angelica told him. "And the photo shoot's in a few hours. I hope the short notice isn't any trouble!"

He assured her it was fine before heading to Valerie's room. Valerie smiled when she saw him, of course, her green eyes sparkling. "Well, hello there! Not your normal time to visit me, but I'll take it!" She began taking off her clothes and once her bra was off, Dexter's mind went blank until finally, with all the willpower he had in him, he was able to focus.

"No, no!" He told her. "I didn't come in for that. I came to tell you that I'm helping Angelica with some of her charity work. It's a calendar that will involve me being photographed not fully dressed. Don't try and talk me out of it! I just wanted to let you know."

"Oh, I'm not gonna try and talk you out of it," Valerie smiled, still standing there half-dressed. "You do what you want. In fact, I'm proud of you! I never thought you'd do something like this! Did you ask her to be part of it or did she ask _you_?"

"She asked me," Dexter replied. "And I said 'yes' because I've been working out and I look damn good."

"Yes, you do," Valerie nodded. "Just...just make sure she gives me all the extra prints, okay?"

"Sure," Dexter grinned and gave her a quick kiss. "All right."

"When's the photo shoot?" Valerie questioned as she dressed again. "Soon?"

Dexter nodded. "Angelica says it's in a few hours. Will you tell your dad where I am if he asks?"

"Sure," Valerie agreed. "It's good you're getting out. Dad needs to start learning to do things for himself."

"And you're not just saying that because a lot of my extracurricular activities involve you?" Dexter grinned, taking her in his arms and kissing her hair.

"Well, yes," Valerie nodded, grinning and shutting her eyes as she relaxed in his grip for a bit. "Naturally."

* * *

Still stinging from the prank that Sam Jr. had pulled and knowing that she would soon be surrounded by a bunch of handsome men, Angelica decided to have a heart to heart talk with her grandfather before she left with Dexter.

"Grandpa," she said, kneeling down by her window and adjusting her skirt so it didn't ride up too much. "I don't know if you had anything to do with what happened with Sam Jr., or if it was supposed to be some sort of lesson for me, but...I got through it. I think I learned my lesson. Now, I am about to be surrounded by a bunch of good-looking guys and for _once_ , I want to feel desirable. I'm not gonna do anything wild and crazy. I just want to be admired, which means I'll have to have my powers back that make guys attracted to me. Can we do that? Please?"

She then waited for a sign, but there was nothing obvious. In the midst of her waiting, Dexter knocked on the door to tell her it was time to go, and when they arrived at the club, she breathed a sigh of relief as the men swarmed around her, shoving their numbers at her and wanting to get much more naked for the camera than she had planned, just because they wanted her to see them.

And she enjoyed it. She wanted all of them. It was great! Her sister would have been proud and so would her dad.

It made her even happier when she noticed Sam Jr. glowering nearby. Served him right. He deserved to see her so happy with other, more handsome guys than him after what he did to her. She hoped he was miserable. She paused and then snapped another picture. Of course, his being miserable would mean that he actually cared for her or was attracted to her in some way and they both knew that _that_ was a lie.

She snapped a picture and then groaned as Sammy bumped into her, mop in hand. "Hey!" She yelled as Dexter began undressing for his photo. He was October. "Watch what you're doing! I'm trying to do an act of charity here and you're just in the way!"

"Oh, please," Sammy scoffed. "I think it's obvious that you don't care about people. You're not selfless. You just want to do this so that when you do something bad, it all evens out and _Grandpa_ won't throw you into the fiery pit like he did with your dad!"

Angelica's face went white when he said this. She then put her camera down and gave him a good hard slap. "Get out!" She screamed. "How dare you, you...you..." She couldn't think of a word bad enough.

"Never mind," he grinned. "You don't have to finish that sentence. I'll just finish my mopping and be on my way. Excuse me." He then continued mopping through the photo shoot and after her breathing calmed, she picked up her camera again. Dexter had finished undressing and was now seated behind a strategically placed jack o' lantern.

"Sorry about that," she apologized to him. "I know you're probably cold so we'll hurry this along, I _swear_. And thanks for agreeing to be one of the naked pictures. It's all for Valerie, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Dexter nodded, ruffling his hair and smiling at the camera, his dark eyes sparkling as she clicked picture after picture. "It is."

* * *

When they decided to take a break, Angelica sat at a table with all her notebooks and a coffee and waited. She'd seen Sam Jr. glowering at her in his dirty apron as he'd pushed a mop back and forth and now, no doubt, he was gonna come yell it her more, even though he had no damn right!

"Okay," she stood up as he approached and sat down at her table. "Get it out. What do you want? What more do you have to say that you haven't already said?"

She expected him to be angry, but he wasn't. Instead, he just sat there, his face uncertain as he ran his fingers through his hair. When he spoke, he stuttered slightly, a pink blush coloring his cheeks. "Well, I-I-I, um...ah..I.."

"Out with it!" She snapped. "Why can't you talk? Not so slick now, are you?"

"Just give me a minute!" He got out.

She then "accidentally" knocked over her coffee cup into his lap. Luckily, it had ice in it so he didn't get burned.

"Whoops!" Angelica put her hand to her mouth as he rose and swore. "How clumsy of me!" She paused. "I guess we'll have to call the busboy to clean that up." Then she giggled. "Oh, wait, that's you! I hope there's a mop close by. Or some towels."

"Don't worry," he said through his teeth, a growl escaping his throat. "I'll mop up your damn mess."

He did the best he could to clean it up and then went to change into the extra pair of pants his dad suggested he bring to work. He'd scoffed at that suggestion at first, but now he was grateful.

Once again dry and clean, he sat back in the chair and tried to start over. "Look," he reasoned. "I know you're pissed off about that trick I pulled on you, but I'm trying to apologize for it, so will you give me a break?"

Angelica just blinked and leaned toward him. "Were you talking to me? I don't think I have anything to say to you except..." she pulled some money out of her purse. "Here's a little something for cleaning up my coffee. I hope your pants are okay."

Sam bared his teeth and threw the money on the floor. "I don't want that!" He yelled. "That's not the point at all!"

"What _is_ the point?" Angelica asked. "What do you want? To humiliate me some more? I know that's like a sport for you!"

"No," He shook his head and pulled her to her feet, grabbing on to her when she lost her balance. "You know," he said, "You really should invest in some more practical shoes. I can't keep rescuing you every time a pair makes you fall down."

"Oh, shut up!" She snapped. "And get a breath mint, would you?"

He scoffed, picking her up and carrying her to the back room, locking them both in.

"What are you doing now?" Angelica demanded as the lock clicked, her arms crossed. "You can't trap me in here! I have a job to do! What do you want from me? Let me out! I don't want to listen to your explanations! I don't want even want to be in the same _room_ as you!"

She began beating on his chest with her fists and he just rolled his eyes and pushed her away, silencing her with a roared "Shut up!" When she lapsed into a shocked silence, he continued. "Now, as I was saying, I'm trying to apologize. Will you let me explain? I better talk quick before you open your mouth again. Being quiet and a good listener is not your strong suit, is it?" She scowled and he hurried on. "Sorry I hurt your feelings, Princess, but I really _do_ think that if you just listen, you'll be all right with what I have to say."

"I seriously doubt-" Angelica began and was shocked when all of a sudden, her voice was silenced by a wave of Sammy's hand. She gesticulated and ranted silently while he hurried on.

"As I was saying...I'm sorry for what I did," he told her. "I thought badly of you and what I did wasn't fair, but what we did and what we felt (cause I remember that and I knew you do too, which is why you're so mad at me) weren't lies. They were real."

"Oh, you say that now," Angelica scoffed when he let her respond. "I know you're lying and just trying to save your ass so I won't kill you for sucking on my breasts and stuff. That was really taking advantage of me!"

"You didn't seem to mind it," he winked. "I thought you enjoyed yourself. I did!" He reached out to put a hand on her face.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled because his warm palm felt good against her cheek, giving her tingles that she didn't want to feel. She slapped his hand away and stomped her foot. "Yeah, I enjoyed it! Like a person would enjoy a cold shower in Antarctica!"

Sammy's smile disappeared for a moment, but then came back, as his eyes bore into hers in a way that made her squirm. "You know," he said. "Polar bears would really enjoy cold showers in Antarctica. I think you enjoyed it like _that._ "

"Oh, you're stupid!" Angelica snapped. "Who are you to tell me how I think about things! You don't know me! You _don't_!" She backed up as he came toward her, still giving her that hot look, one side of his mouth up in a very smug grin. Finally, she felt her legs hit a wall and he put up his hands on either side of her. She was trapped! The air between them was electric and warm and Angelica suddenly felt the need to undo some of the buttons on her black blouse.

"Well, well," Sammy remarked, his fingers in her long, dark hair after he pulled it out of its up-do. "What are you doing? Giving me a little show?"

Angelica couldn't think of any answer she could give that would end with a response from him that wouldn't infuriate her, so she just pushed him away and slapped him yet again. But then he surprised her, grabbing her and kissing her hard.

And there it was: the tingles and fire and passion that had been threatening to boil over every time they even just looked at one another. She had a sudden urge to just rip off all her clothes and let him take her right there against the wall, but decided she had to hold it in check. She had to have standards. If it was gonna be done, it was gonna be done in a bed, not a closet. She let it go a little longer and then she pushed him away once more. "There you go," she said, smoothing her gray skirt. "You got what you wanted. Happy?"

"Frankly, I think we both benefited," he told her. "And I was surprised how long you let it go on."

"Well, I had to let you believe you got your money's worth," she shrugged and put her hair up again. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have stopped until you got it. I know guys like you." She cleared her throat and gave him a slight nod. "Now if you'll excuse me," she said, her spine straight and her air of dignity back. "I have work to get back to."

"All right," Sammy called after her. "You do that!" He watched her go, went to the bathroom to check if he had lipstick on his face, then went to the kitchen to help wash dishes, doing it much more readily than usual cause nothing could upset him now. He'd won.

* * *

That night, Angelica took one of the guys from the photo shoot out to dinner, which went well enough. Then, afterward, they decided to make out in the restaurant parking lot. But then, as his lips touched her skin, Angelica began to feel icky. He was a good looking guy, had a body to die for...wanted her bad...and she didn't want him anywhere near her.

He blew in her ear and she snapped at him. "Don't do that!" She said. "Drive me home!"

He got in the front seat and then she said contritely, "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I've just had a long day and I'm a bit tired."

"Okay," he said. "I'll take you home."

This same scene happened every time she went on a date with one of the guys from the photo shoot and when she came home early for the eleventh time, Lucifer finally said something about it.

"I wasn't gonna say anything the first few times, but now I feel I have to," he exclaimed after taking her into his office. "Is everything okay? I thought you had your powers back. Why do you keep coming home so early? I thought a mindless affair was what you wanted."

"It _is!"_ Angelica cried irritably. "You better believe it! And attracting guys is not the problem, but I still think Grandpa's messing with me."

"How?" Lucifer questioned.

"Well, I can get the guy, I can go on a date with the guy...but when it comes time to do the fun stuff, the only guy I seem to get anywhere with is stupid Sam Jr.," Angelica scoffed. "When any of the other guys tried to kiss me, it just felt gross and that's really not fair!" She paused. "Is that the price of having Grandpa's special attention? He thinks he can run every aspect of your life? No _wonder_ you rebelled." She kicked her chair. "I wish _I_ could." She paused. "I know this is kind of a weird favor to ask, but...for one second, could you pretend that you're just the devil and not my dad? And I'm just a regular person asking for a favor? Point me in the direction of some rich, good-looking guy who dresses well and has a yacht and stuff. I need that."

"Oh, so you want me to find you a man like me?" Lucifer questioned, eyebrow raised.

"Oh, don't put it that way!" Angelica's face twisted. "That makes it _gross_! Do you want me to stand up to Grandpa by having a meaningless affair or not?" She paused. "And yes, I know this is uncomfortable, but I have to ask. I obviously can't fight fire with fire cause mine's not strong enough."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "Having been where you've been, I can't help but have sympathy. I'll help you. Just don't tell your mother."

"Like I would," Angelica said. "This stays just between us."


	88. I Won't Say I'm In Love

Needing someone to talk to about the whole situation with Sam Junior who was not one of her parents (cause they both had their opinions and neither helped: her mom said 'get along with him' and of course, her dad...well, she wasn't sure what her dad thought, but since she'd expressed discontent, it wouldn't end well to talk more of it. Her father was a man of action. He couldn't just listen).

So she did the second best thing: went to the gym where her grandma Sarah worked and scheduled a one-on-one yoga session where they chatted between poses.

"It's really annoying," she said as she looked down on the floor in downward facing dog pose. "All I want is a bit of excitement, but since Grandpa has taken over my life, I don't even get that."

Sarah nodded and then got out of downward facing dog and into plank. "I know what you mean. Well, not as much, probably. But my dad's not the king of flexibility either. Ellie Bean's not told you much about him, has she?"

"No," Angelica chuckled and sat down to catch a breath. "Did I mention I think it's adorable when you call Mom Ellie Bean?"

"Well, that's who she is to me," Sarah smiled. "Now...tell me about this guy."

"He's just...really annoying!" Angelica complained. "Good looking and really annoying. I can't think of anyone but him. I don't like him but I want to jump his bones every time I see him."

"Be careful about guys like that," Sarah advised. "Not to say you can't like him, but take it slow. I didn't, and that's how your mother happened."

Angelica looked up. "Really?"

"Not to say that I don't love your mother," Sarah backtracked quickly. "Just...make sure you're really ready before you dive into something like that...or at least use lots of protection. You'll be glad you did." She paused. "Or you could do the smart thing, ignore all the physical feelings, and find a nice, sweet, boring guy. Depends on if you wanna be safe or be driven mad by unsatisfied sexual feelings."

"I wanna piss stupid Sam Jr. off," Angelica replied, her eyes becoming red and narrowing. "That's what I wanna do!"

Sarah sighed. This was not the reaction she hoped for, but...sometimes you just couldn't talk to people when they had their minds set on something. "Well, good luck with that," she said at last. "I hope you get everything you want."

"Thanks," Angelica nodded, trying to stay calm. "I know I probably sound insane though, don't I? Mom would say that I need to be more understanding or diplomatic or whatever. Do you feel the same?"

"Well, that would be my natural impulse," Sarah agreed. "But if you say that it seems like everything in your life is being controlled by your grandfather, including your attraction to this boy you don't like, it would seem that being diplomatic won't change things at all, will it?"

"No," Angelica shook her head. "No it won't. That's why I have to be tough. Take a stand."

"And when you take this stand," Sarah pressed, "what is it that you want instead?"

"Well," Angelica thought a moment. "I don't really know. Getting the stand to stick will be tough enough so I haven't really thought beyond that. But it would be nice to have a man of my own choosing."

"And would you think differently of the man you hate now if you could choose him on your own?" Sarah asked. "Is it just the knowledge that you have no other options that makes him unattractive to you?"

Angelica sighed. "I don't know...maybe. Like I said, he's hot. And he can be nice sometimes, so it's _possible_ that I could like him if he wasn't my only option." She reached for her water bottle and took a gulp. "But that ship sailed."

"So you're gonna ignore what you like about him and go after someone else entirely?" Sarah asked. "Just to make a point?"

"You know, you really confuse me," Angelica told her. "You said that I should stay away from a guy who inspires mainly physical feelings in me. That's what I want to do and you're skeptical?"

"I'm skeptical because it seems like, even if they're just teeny little bits of feelings, it's not _only_ physical feelings this Sammy inspires in you," Sarah pointed out. "Am I right?"

"Oh, geez!" Angelica cried, her eyes widening. "He's in your head, isn't he? Grandpa's in your head!" She began shaking Sarah and yelling, "Get out of her head, Grandpa! Can't you just leave her alone?" Then she let a shocked Sarah go, grabbed what was left of her water, and ran out the gym door. If she couldn't be in peace here, she'd have to go find somewhere else to be alone with her own thoughts and plot her next move. And _fast_.

* * *

Taking her grandmother's advice (or perhaps her own interpretation of her grandmother's advice), Angelica decided to do something she'd been putting off for months now. The guy who was the volunteer coordinator at the animal shelter had been wanting to ask her out for a few weeks but she could tell he was too intimidated.

So the next time she went to visit and he handed her the cutest puppy he could find (and also had a red rose in its teeth even), she asked _him_ out.

"You wanna come to a club with me?" She said. "I mean, I know it might not be your thing, but...I thought it would be nice for us to grab a drink." She grabbed the rose. "And thank you, this is so sweet of you. I love roses."

The guy, who was like a human version of Dexter, but with a taste for ill-fitting plaid shirts and jeans with holes, looked around. "Are you talking to me?" He asked at last.

"Yeah," she smiled, continuing to pet the eager little Cocker spaniel she held. "Unless you don't want to."

"Of course I do!" He said. "When do we go?"

She sighed. The eager look on his face should have made her feel guilty, but it didn't. Instead, she just called the club, hoping that Sammy was on phones that night.

"What?" He asked irritably.

"You gonna bring a date to karaoke night tonight?" She asked.

"Why?" He questioned. "Are _you_ asking? Cause the answer is 'No'."

"Not me, you fool!" She snapped. "I just wanted to make sure you had someone so you wouldn't feel all pathetic and alone when I came in with _my_ date."

"Oh, I won't feel pathetic and alone," he assured her, his voice steely. "Believe me!"

"Good!" Angelica replied. "Cause I'm not gonna either!" She slammed the phone down and went back to her date. "So...karaoke night starts at seven. You want me to come pick you up at six?" She questioned.

"I could come pick _you_ up," he said. "Or we could just meet here and go."

"I'd like that," Angelica nodded. "Let's do it. I'll see you at six, Andy."

"Can't wait," Andy replied. "We got some new cats. You want to see them now?"

"Sure," Angelica said with a smile as he held out his arm to her. "I would love to."

* * *

"So how did that date you had your dad set up for you go?" Ellie asked as Angelica stepped through the door. "Did it work? Why did you feel the need to do it?"

"How did you find out?" Angelica asked. "You weren't supposed to know!"

"Well, if you have to keep it from me, it's probably not a good idea, is it?" Ellie asked. "Now...how did it go?"

"We didn't even get through dinner before he had a mysterious heart attack and face planted in his mashed potatoes," Angelica sighed. "And he wasn't even old. Grandpa's really playing hardball, isn't he?"

"Yes, and I hope that helped you learn a valuable lesson," Ellie replied. "Look, I know it's frustrating that it seems you don't have much time for fun, but..."

"But what?" Angelica asked. "How could you _possibly_ finish that sentence in a way that would make me feel better?"

"Well, I don't know," Ellie shrugged. "Let me think."

"Will you help me finish the centerpieces for the 'Save the Rain Forest' benefit while you do that?" Angelica questioned. "It's only a couple of days away and I only have half of the amount I need done."

"Sure," Ellie nodded. "No problem."

As they sat at the table making little tree-shaped centerpieces with pretend toucans and stuff in them, Ellie remarked, "I don't know how you keep track of all you have to do. It really is amazing."

"Thanks," Angelica told her. "That's what all my notebooks are for: schedules, supply lists, names, that sort of thing. It works well enough."

"It must," Ellie replied. "I do something like that. One binder for what's going on in Hell, another for when I have to pinch hit for your dad at the Witches' Council, and a third for what just goes on in our office."

"Good!" Angelica smiled and started another tree. "Now I don't feel like such a freak."

"You shouldn't feel like a freak for being such a hard worker," Ellie told her. "It's an admirable thing, what you're accomplishing for the world."

"Yeah," Angelica sighed. "I guess. And I don't hate what I do. It's just...sometimes it feels like Grandpa gave Valerie the fun personality and me the serious one and it makes me sad."

"I used to feel that way too," Ellie assured her as she put the finishing touches on a little toucan. "But you know how you fix that? You surround yourself with people like your dad or your sister who can bring out the spontaneity that doesn't come naturally."

"Does that actually work?" Angelica questioned.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I think so. I mean, I'm seriously considering just stopping work after lunch one Friday and asking your dad to get the jet so we can fly to Paris to have crepes. I wouldn't have done that if he wasn't around."

"What about us stopping work early to go to Paris on the jet and get crepes?" Lucifer asked as he strode into the dining room. "Because I like that idea."

"Hello," Ellie and Angelica greeted him at the same time. He watched them make decorations for a few seconds and chuckled before Ellie spoke.

"What?" She asked. "What's so funny?"

"Well, it's just like you multiplied is all," he said with a grin. "It amuses me sometimes. And Angelica dear, I'm terribly sorry for what happened on your date. I really was not expecting that you would end it at the hospital with him in a body bag."

"Well, it made it slightly easier that Detective Walker was the one who was on the scene first and questioned me," Angelica replied. "It would have been worse if it had been someone I didn't know as well."

"Now, how exactly is it that you know law enforcement?" Lucifer asked. "They haven't tried to arrest you for anything have they? Cause you know it's easy to bribe your way out. You waste less time that way."

"Or explain what happened and accept the consequences," Ellie told him firmly. "That's the better option."

"Well, I didn't see you complaining when I got us out of that ticket on the night we were late for the jazz band you wanted to see," Lucifer reminded her.

"That was _one time_!" Ellie said. "If it was just the one time, it's okay."

"You tell yourself what you need to, Eleanor," He told her. "Whatever helps you sleep at night." Then, he looked at Angelica again. "Go out tonight," he told her. "Steal some of your sister's clothes and go have fun. Give yourself a break. You deserve it."

"Oh, I'm going out," she assured him. "I have a date and everything for karaoke night at the Underground. I think I'll do 'Somebody To Love'. Story of my life, right? As for how I know the cops, I helped with their toy drive," Angelica finished.

"When are you leaving?" Lucifer questioned. "Do you have gas in your car?"

"I do," Angelica nodded. "And I'm meeting my date at six."

"I hope you have fun," Lucifer told her. "It's not gonna hurt you if you do."

"I know," Angelica nodded. "I might even get a drink. Or two."

"Really living on the edge, you are," Lucifer remarked.

"Yeah," his daughter grinned, her dark eyes bright. "You better believe it!"

* * *

"Why do you keep looking at those two when you asked me to come dance with you?" Sam Junior's date asked him as he kept his eye on Angelica and the guy in the pocket protector that she'd brought with her. It was obviously a sad, pathetic bid for attention on her part.

"What?" He asked, turning back to her. She had lovely dark eyes and nice dark hair, but she wasn't Angelica. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"Never mind," she scoffed. "You keep spying on those two. I'm getting a drink."

"But we're still going to duet on 'Love Will Keep Us Together', right?" He called after her. He wasn't too broken up about her, though. He kept watching Angelica and when she left to go to the bathroom, he _whooshed_ everyone else away, making it so it was just the two of them. Even the staff was gone.

"Okay, what the hell?" She asked when she came out. "I was planning to have a nice evening, and here I am stuck with _you_. Was your date so boring that even _I'm_ preferable?"

"No," He said, putting his arms around her. "I just realized that you'd never get to know what your version of Hell would look like, so I thought I'd give you a sample."

"This is _not_ a sample!" She cried and elbowed him in the gut before pulling away and turning around. "This is the whole damn thing! What's you're _problem_?"

"You!" He cried, grabbing her and kissing her as his hand cupped her bottom. " _You're_ my problem!"

"Oh, fine!" She cried, looking heavenward. "Fine, whatever! I give up! I surrender!" She kissed Sammy again, wishing she had worn a dress because that would make what she knew they were about to do so much easier. But no, she'd had to borrow Valerie's tight black leather pants instead.

"You're kissing me back?" Sammy asked in surprise as he picked her up and carried her to a red velvet chaise long in the corner. "Seriously? You're not gonna yell at me or hit me?"

"I was thinking of just doing it tonight, but if yelling and resisting would make you more comfortable, I can do that too," Angelica said. "Your choice."

"Oh, Angie," he breathed. "No. Baby, I don't want to fight with you. Even if it's only for one day that you're going to be this nice to me, I'll take it."

Angelica frowned a little at his informality, but then tried to keep control of her breathing as he grinned adorably in a way that made her fuzzy inside, matter-of-factly undressed her and then stared wonderingly at her body as his hands ran over it, spending extra time on her breasts.

"See anything you like?" She finally got out, her body hot.

"Oh, yeah," he grinned. "I sure do." He then began undressing himself as she watched while stretching out on the chaise, her mind conjuring up a fantasy of herself as a queen about to be pleasured by an extremely knowledgeable stable boy.

Then he zapped on Beethoven's _Moonlight Sonata ,_ making it play on repeat before finally taking her in his arms, pulling her body close to his and planting soft kisses on her shoulder and neck as his hands roamed over her body. That was a pleasant surprise. She thought he would just get right down to the good part. She was even _more_ surprised when, after the massage, he shifted positions a little to reach between her legs and rubbed her gently over and over until her lips parted while she climaxed.

After that, he kissed her a little deeper, a little harder, and a little longer before nibbling on her earlobe and whispered in her ear, "Hold onto me. I don't want you to fall."

"What?" She asked. "Why?"

"Shut your eyes," he continued. "Do you want me inside you now?"

"Yes," Angelica nodded and shut her eyes. "Yes, I do." She then gasped as he buried himself inside her, and it soon became apparent when he thrusted over and over why he asked her to hold onto him. If she didn't, she'd fall off the chaise.

This went on for some time, and then he asked, "Are you tired? I have another idea, but if you're done, we can stop."

"Oh, no, I'm not tired," Angelica shook her head. "I have tremendous stamina, apparently."

"Good," he nodded. "Okay." He backed out of her, got off the chaise, and then once she had sat up, held his hand out to her. "Come here," he said.

"All right," she agreed and put her hand in his.

As they walked naked across the empty club, he said, "You know, I'm really glad you decided to loosen up tonight. Cause I've liked it."

"Yeah," Angelica smiled. "Me too. First real connection of this sort I've ever been able to make with someone."

He kissed her hand. "I like this version of you. The one who's just letting go and trusting. Thanks. I know that's hard for you."

"It's...I suppose it's not so bad," she told him and blushed.

When they finally stopped walking, they were standing in front of a mirror in one of the club's smaller rooms.

"What are we doing here?" She asked.

"I want you to look at yourself," he whispered. "You don't think much of you, do you? No matter how you might act."

"Well, I may not be fun or outgoing or spontaneous, but...in my own way, I do all right," she said as he moved to stand behind her, his hands going around her waist. She then giggled as he nibbled on her neck and played with her hair after making it hang loose on her shoulders.

"What was that for?" She asked.

"Sorry," he quickly apologized. "Did it hurt?"

"No, it actually kind of felt good," she smiled broadly. "Do it again."

"All right," he agreed. There was another twinge of pain followed by warmth in her belly. "Listen to your body," he told her. "What does it say?"

Angelica took a deep breath and grabbed his hand, parting her legs and rubbing herself again. "Good," she breathed. "Yes."

The room was heating up and she felt the sheen of a thin layer of sweat on her neck and arms, but she didn't care. It all felt too good. With a whispered spell, she lowered the lights and then bit her lip when she thought she felt Sammy enter her from behind.

Afterward, she slowly fell to her knees and then her stomach on the floor. He got down beside her, massaging her neck, back, and shoulders until she felt like jelly before flipping her over onto her back and pulling her close to him as they fell asleep, exhausted, in front of the mirror.


	89. You're Under My Skin

"I still can't believe that after all this time your parents haven't said anything about me being pregnant!" Lauren exclaimed as she looked at herself in the mirror one morning after brushing her teeth. "I mean, I'm not super fat, but I'm not skinny anymore either. I'm glad Valerie kept her mouth closed."

"You know, I really thought she wouldn't," Vincent told her as he came up behind her, put his arms around her, and kissed her neck. "But I'm glad because that means we can tell Mom and Dad when _we_ want to."

"And when will that be?" Lauren asked. "We can't hide it forever. It's gonna have to come out sometime." She cradled her stomach with her hands. "Valerie caught on quick, but there's gonna be a point where even your parents won't be able to deny what's going on. We can't just _not_ tell them."

"Well we should get married first, shouldn't we?" Vincent asked. "We could go right now if you wanted to. Or later today. Or tomorrow. I don't care. I just want to be married to you. And then, when it's done and Mom and Dad can't do anything about it, _that's_ when we'll tell them we're married and you're pregnant. And we can invite as many other people to the ceremony as you want. The more people we have to gang up against Dad, the less trouble he'll probably cause. Or at least the easier it will be to deal with."

"Let's invite everyone but your parents, then," Lauren decided, turning around, throwing her arms around Vincent's neck, and kissing him gently. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Vincent smiled, his fingers threading through her hair. "I think that's a great idea." He then let her go and they split up, with Lauren telling their invitees in the house about the wedding, and Vincent making the calls. It had been a sudden decision and she usually didn't consider herself the spontaneous type, but she was really looking forward to this.

Or at least she was until a sudden doubt hit her. "I have a question that I've gotta ask you," she told Vincent when she saw him again. "I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but I have to be certain: we're doing this wedding with such spontaneity because we want to, right? This is about us, not because you want to curry favor with your grandfather for some reason? I know he's a bit tough on Angelica and I understand why you would want to make him happy, but I just...I don't want you to use our wedding to do it."

Vincent sighed. "It's not specifically to get myself in Grandpa's favor, no," he assured her. "But I think he might have an attitude if I get a woman pregnant and then don't make an honest woman out of her as soon as possible. It'll be hard to be married if I'm stuck in Hell. And not an easy commute either." He paused. "Although Mom works down there now and Dad has pull still, of course, so I suppose we _could_ make it work."

"Okay, sure," Lauren nodded. "But this is just as much about us loving each other and wanting to make a life time commitment of being together as it is you avoiding being eternally damned, right?"

"Of course," Vincent nodded. He cupped her face in both hands and looked deep into her eyes. "I love you," he assured her. "When those thugs set your house on fire and you were in your bed and dying, I just...I couldn't think of anything but what my life would be like without you around and it was not pretty. It was lonely. It was hell. I need you, Lauren. And I...I hope you need me."

"Yeah," Lauren nodded and kissed him. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Vincent assured her. "Good to get all this out before we marry. Anything else you need to get off your chest?"

"No, I'm good," Lauren smiled. Then, her stomach growled. "I know you want to go and do this as soon as possible, but...I really want to eat before we do."

"Me, too," Vincent nodded. "I don't want to skip out on breakfast either, which is why I told everyone I wrote to to eat first. Did you?"

"Yeah," Lauren nodded. "I did. And did you actually say we were getting married?"

"No," Vincent shook his head. "They might object if I said it outright, so I just told them I wanted them to meet us and go out somewhere."

"That's what I did too," Lauren smiled. "It's good we're on the same page."

They made their way down to the dining room where all eyes were suddenly on them and Ellie leaned forward a little as they came in, looking at Lauren as if she had something on her shirt.

"What?" She asked. "Do I have a toothpaste stain or something on my shirt?"

"No, no," Ellie sat back in her chair. "You just...you did something different with your...you seem..." she got up, strode over to them, and took Lauren's hand. "This is a nice ring," she observed. "Where'd you get it?"

"Oh...it was my grandmother's," Lauren blushed. "Family heirloom. Very old. Now that my parents are gone, I'm doing all I can to have my family near me."

"Right," Ellie nodded. "That's understandable. "Good for you. What did you two want to eat?"

They gulped down eggs, bacon, and pancakes, and when breakfast was over, Valerie, Christopher, and Dexter met them in Vincent's room.

"So what's this big meeting you want us to have with you?" Valerie asked. "And why did Lauren look like she was gonna have a heart attack when Mom asked about her ring? It's not a wedding ring is it? The two of you aren't gonna get married before Lauren has her baby, are you?"

"Well...yeah," Vincent nodded. "That's kind of what we were thinking."

"Are you _nuts_?" Valerie asked, grabbing Vincent by his shirt and lifting him to his toes. "Do you realize how much that will piss off Dad? He's gonna lose his mind and we're all gonna have to deal with it! I hope you're prepared for that. And if anything bad happens because of it, I will blame you and you will _not_ hear the end of it!"

"Oh, like it was all a picnic for us to deal with Dad being pissed off about you and Dexter," Vincent shot back. "Face it...Dad's gonna hate pretty much everyone one of us dates, so just...why don't we shut up, get our noses out of each other's business, and support one another being happy? Besides, I'd rather deal with a pissed off Dad than a pissed off Grandpa because I got a woman pregnant and didn't take responsibility. Lesser of the two evils."

"I think this is a great idea," Christopher got out. "I'm happy for you two, Vincent."

"Thank you!" Vincent told him and gave him a hug. "I'm glad _someone_ is!"

"Are we gonna go now?" Valerie asked.

"We can go get Hannah," Christopher said. "And is it just the four of us who are coming?"

"No," Vincent checked his phone. "I texted Angelica too, but she hasn't responded."

"It could be because she's still out partying," Valerie said. "She _was_ at the Underground last night. Maybe we should just do it without her and let her have her fun. Cause it doesn't happen very often for her, does it?"

"Right," Vincent nodded. "Let's go get Hannah then." He looked at everyone still in their pajamas. "After we all get dressed, of course."

* * *

"Oh, damn," Angelica replied. Her eyes opened and she realized that there was the hard floor of the club under her cheek. She didn't want to get up, however. It wasn't a bad feeling. And the rest of her body felt good.

Then, she saw who was next to her and her good mood disappeared. She then cast a hunted look around to make sure that no one would see her (grateful that that mirror was hidden away), and then tossed aside the blanket Sammy had magicked over them and began searching for her clothes. When she found them, she used her magic to switch to a dress in case she needed to visit any of her projects. She didn't want them seeing her in Valerie's pants.

It was the noise of her moving things around to look for her panties that made Sammy's eyes open.

"Good morning, beautiful!" He greeted her, a grin on his face as he watched her stomp around. "Last night was great, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," she said, desperately hoping that her phone would have an excuse on it to get her away from him. "Oh, look!" She exclaimed, her voice full of relief. "A text from my brother. He's getting married. I should go deal with that! Goodbye!"

"Oh, hey," he said, actually getting up and coming toward her. "What's the rush, baby? You don't have to go anywhere!" He blew in her ear and this time, it felt good. When she spoke, her voice was shaky. "Y-yes, yes I do," she said. "What...what we did last night was good...but...but it's o-over and we...we can't do it again. We have to go back to how things were before. It's better that way."

"What do you mean?" An outraged Sam Junior asked, his lazy grin gone as he got up and began to dress. "What are you going on about? You make no sense at all. You're the only person I know who sees being happy as a bad thing!" He grabbed her and pulled her to him to kiss her soundly again. "Please stay," he said. "Nothing bad will happen to you. I promise. Being happy is not a crime. We had a good time last night and it doesn't have to end."

"Let me go, please," Angelica said and tried to pull away as she gazed at her phone that was in her free hand. "I missed a text from my brother. It seems he needs me for something and I don't want to let him down. Sorry, but that's more important than this. That's duty. You understand, don't you?"

"No!" He replied, his voice full of frustration as he pulled her close against his body and her phone fell on the floor. "Everything you say about duty is bullshit, all right? You deserve to be happy, you stubborn woman! And I _know_ that being with me makes you happy. I saw the smile on your face last night and I wouldn't forget it cause it's so rare on you. And so beautiful."

Angelica gave him another smile and played with his hair. "Thank you, but... the answer's still 'No'. Please let me go. I might come back later, depending on how things work out."

"No, you won't," he said. "You're just telling me that to get rid of me."

"Well then maybe you should take the hint!" Angelica replied. "Did that ever occur to you?" She tried to pull away again and he kissed her deeply, one that went all the way down to Angelica's toes. She liked it. She really liked it. But when they pulled apart, she just said, "I can't believe you did that. That's terrible behavior. Do you treat all your dates that way or am I just the unlucky exception?"

"I'm not a monster," Sammy replied. "I know what 'No' means, and if what you were giving me was a sincere 'No', I would accept it. But what I'm getting from you is a 'No' that's an excuse to hide from feelings that you're very clearly trying to ignore and I don't understand why."

"Cause if I kiss you...if I admit that I like you, then you know what happens?" Angelica snapped. "My grandfather wins. He's laid out this whole plan for my life and I want at least _one_ thing in it that I decide for myself. And I've decided that it's gonna be who I love, so...since Grandpa seems to want you and I together...that takes you out of the running."

"Well, that's a damn shame," he told her. "Not to mention the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I mean, I've heard some doozies from women before about why they don't want to date me, but that...that just takes the cake!"

"You might think it's a stupid reason, but it's all I've got," Angelica shrugged. "And the fact that you can't accept it is not my problem!" She grabbed a bottle of whiskey off the bar, opened it, took a big swig, and then walked with exaggerated dignity toward the club door. Sammy then walked behind her and she gasped when she felt a tug on her skirt. "How dare you!" She cried and then slapped him.

"Your skirt was hiked up a little high," He explained. "And I didn't want you to look like an idiot. I wasn't trying to stop you from leaving. You can go for all I care."

"Good," Angelica nodded. "I apologize for slapping you. And thank you for coming to your senses and understanding that I can't stay."

"You can go now," he told her, giving her another rakish grin. "But only because I know you'll come back. I'm under your skin now."

"Right," Angelica burst out laughing, a beautiful sound, even if she _was_ laughing at him, even to the point where she was doubled over and struggling to breathe, she was laughing so hard. "Right, whatever. Thanks for that. I needed a good laugh."

Then she got serious again and left as Sammy straightened up his clothes and went to find his father to ask what needed to be done.

* * *

"...for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Vincent said, grinning at Lauren. She was wearing a dress that he'd zapped up, a pink one. Those last words were all he heard because he was too busy staring at the beautiful woman he was marrying. And the nudge he got from Christopher to tell him it was time for him to talk was helpful too.

The priest turned to Lauren. "Are you ready?" He asked.

She nodded and swayed a little, but, ever helpful, Dexter took hold of her flowers and kept her steady until Vincent could do it instead. "Thanks," he whispered.

"No problem," Dexter whispered back.

"Nice catch," Valerie said and kissed him. "She could have fallen!"

"Sorry," Lauren apologized. "Where were we?"

"Do you, Lauren Jane Lambert, take Vincent Morningstar to be your husband, for richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

"Oh, I do!" Lauren nodded. "I really do!"

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife," the priest said. "You may kiss the bride!"

"Yes, I will," Vincent replied, easily picking her up and kissing her soundly as Christopher squeezed hands with Hannah and Valerie whispered to Dexter.

"You know, this isn't as gross as I thought it would be."

"Shhh!" He told her. "Be nice."

"How much longer do we have to stand here like this?" She fidgeted. "My shoes are starting to hurt."

"I told you not to wear those," Dexter pointed out. "Can't you just zap on some new ones?"

"No!" Valerie shook her head. "These are the ones that go with this dress! I can't just put on any pair! That's not how it works!"

"Oh," Dexter scoffed. "Well, _sorry!"_

"It's all right," she nodded and patted his hand. "You didn't know and you were only trying to be helpful."

"Now turn around, watch, and don't talk anymore," Dexter said. "I'm sure we're almost done here."

They faced the front and the priest presented Lauren and Vincent as official husband and wife and then they left the church and went to get pancakes because Lauren was still hungry and there's always room for pancakes.

When they got home, they found Lucifer standing just inside the door, glaring at them.

"Where in the world were you?" He demanded. "You could have told us where you went before you left!" He turned his head and hollered over his shoulder. "Eleanor! The children have finally returned."

"I told you they would," Ellie remarked as she came to stand next to him. "I'm sure they had a good reason for going somewhere without telling us. They're not children. They're old enough to run their own lives so just let it all go, Mr. I-Need-To-Control-Everything."

She then turned to leave, but Hannah put a hand on her arm. "Vincent and Lauren have some news and you might want to stay here to hear it. Or at least to control what _he_ does when _he_ hears," she looked pointedly at Lucifer, whose fists were clenched at his sides and his whole body was tense.

"Calm down," Ellie told him. "Deep breaths. I don't know why this is bothering you so much."

"It's the principle of the thing, Eleanor!" He told her. "I don't like it when people sneak around behind my back and think they can get away with it."

"And on that note, we'll tell you what we have to tell you so you're better informed and we're not keeping anything from you anymore," Vincent replied. "We're married. Lauren and I are married because we love each other very much. And since it's over and done with, you can't do anything about it."

"Also, I'm pregnant," Lauren added.

"I've know about the baby for a while, but I didn't say anything because I promised I wouldn't," Valerie finished. They then waited for the inevitable explosion of emotions but were just met with stunned silence.

* * *

After leaving Sammy at the club, Angelica had intended to go straight home to apologize to her brother for missing his wedding, but en route, she'd gotten calls from some of the people at her projects to tell her about one thing or another going wrong, so she was delayed.

When she got home and opened the front door, she called out, "Sorry I missed your wedding, Vincent. Are you and Lauren married yet?"

But no one answered her. She made her way into the house and heard shouting, which she followed. Most of it was courtesy of her father, and boy...when he was mad, his voice _really_ carried.

"...How could you do this to me? She was only supposed to be a little bit of fun! How could you get her pregnant and marry her?"

"Lucifer, give him a break," her mother urged. "He fell in love. I don't see what the problem is."

"Yeah," Vincent cried. "How come you're the only one allowed to have your eye on someone and take them in, Dad? If you can marry the person you like, why can't I?"

"I think I'll just go," Lauren said. "To our room, I mean. I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"No, Lauren, you stay here!" Vincent told her, he and his father nearly nose to nose, their faces as demon-like as could be. "You don't have to go just because my dad's a jerk. You're entitled to go where you want."

"And I want to go to our room," she told him. "All this yelling is giving me a headache!"

"You see what you did now?" Valerie shouted at her father. "You ruined Lauren's wedding day!"

"What did we say about taking deep breaths before dealing with unpleasant emotions?" Dexter added. "Or counting to ten? It's precisely so blow ups like this _won't_ happen!"

"I would have handled it more calmly if Vincent had just come out and told me about it instead of keeping it from me," Lucifer replied.

No one knew Angelica was there. Every time she opened her mouth to explain where she had been and what she'd done, someone shouted over her. Now she knew where she got that habit from.

Finally, she decided that if she couldn't get the whole room to pay attention to her, she would just try her sister instead. She found Valerie and tried to talk to her.

"Valerie, we need to talk. I need to tell you what I did last night."

Valerie turned to face her and she thought she would be able to get out the whole sordid tale of what went on between her and Sam Jr, but Valerie just patted her on the head and said, "Can't you see that we're in the middle of an argument here? I'd love to stop and hear what sort of stuff you got up to last night, but really...can it wait until this plays itself out?"

"Fine," Angelica huffed, then muttered under her breath as she stomped away from the shouting to the peace and tranquility of her bedroom. "I thought you'd want to know that I had sex last night, but apparently Dad and his drama are _way_ more important than me."


	90. I Can't Get No Satisfaction

The following morning, Valerie woke up early because she remembered that her sister had wanted to tell her something, but because Daddy had been upset with Vincent and the whole family had gotten dragged into the drama, she hadn't had time to talk to Angelica about what had happened.

Well, she had the time now and it was best to get things like personal conversations done while she was thinking about them, otherwise, she knew, she would be easily distracted and who knew how long Angelica would have to wait to say what she'd wanted to so badly?

So Valerie brushed her dark hair out of her eyes and gave a lightly snoring Dexter a kiss before getting out of his bed, putting on a robe, and then sneaking to her sister's room.

Angelica was sound asleep too, but that was easy to fix. She gave her a shake and said, "Wake up! You said you slept with someone! I want to talk about that now!"

Angelica growled and tried to use magic to make her sister go away, but since she barely awake, it didn't work. "Thanks for the support," she grumbled and turned away. "Now leave, I'm trying to sleep!"

"You can sleep later!" Valerie cried impatiently and turned her sister over to face her. "Why are you only telling me about your bedroom escapades now?"

"I tried to tell you yesterday!" Angelica pointed out. "But everyone was so focused on Vincent's problems, including you, that no one listened to me!"

"That's not gonna be a problem now!" Valerie grinned. "Now I want details! How big is he? Does he look good naked?"

Angelica scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I don't want to give you details! I don't even know why I bother talking to you!"

Valerie let out a growl of frustration and shook Angelica so hard that her head snapped back.

"All right, all right, I'll tell you!" Angelica cried. "Just wait until my head stops spinning."

"Good," Valerie crossed her arms. "I'm waiting."

"Well...he's not so bad..." Angelica got out. "He's not _small._ "

"Oh, I need more details than that!" Valerie told her. "I want a specific size! When you say 'He's not small', what exactly do you mean? And did you use protection because if you didn't, it's way too late to get you into get the pill. And the great part about all this is that now that you've done it with the guy Grandpa wants you to, you'll be free to be with someone else! Anyone else but him! Isn't it exciting?" She grinned and then Angelica shrugged.

"I guess," she sighed. "I also think it won't be that simple. As for how big he is, how am I supposed to be able to tell? He's my first. I don't have any others to compare him to."

"Can't you just _guess_?" Valerie pressed. "I'm not leaving until I have details!"

"Well..." Angelica swallowed. "I guess he's...bigger than average. Not that I know what average is, but...whatever. As for protection-" She paused and gasped, her eyes wide, her hand over her mouth.

"What?" Valerie cried. "What? You didn't use any, did you? Oh, geez! What's going on with Vincent now is bad enough. Dad's not gonna like it happening again!"

"Well, I mean...we didn't plan on it! It was a spur of the moment thing!" Angelica said. "How are you supposed to plan on spur of the moment displays of passion?" She paused and watched her sister pace restlessly around the room. "I don't know what you're so worried about. It'll all be fine."

"No, it won't!" Valerie cried. "Vincent already got Lauren pregnant, and Dad's pissed, and like I said, it's too late to get you the pill that will undo what you did! Damn, why did you have to be wild and crazy? Why couldn't you have just stayed the predictable person you are? It would be a lot easier on my nerves!"

There was a silence and then Angelica put a hand over her mouth, her body shaking.

"Angelica?" Valerie asked, striding over to her. "Angelica, are you okay?" She then realized that her sister was _laughing_. An honest, genuine, from-her-belly laugh, which didn't often happen. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"The...the look on your face!" Angelica cried when she could speak. "I didn't think I'd be able to trick you, but I did!"

"Why did you do that to me?" Valerie cried.

"That's for not listening to me yesterday!" Angelica said. "But of course Sammy and I used protection. What sort of fool do you take me for?"

"I don't know!" Valerie shrugged. "I just...like you said, people aren't always the most responsible when things pop up in the heat of the moment. And since you would _not_ go out of your way to intentionally have sex with this guy, that's what it had to be, right? The heat of the moment?"

"I guess you could say that, damn him," Angelica replied, her eyes narrowing and her expression becoming dark. "That idiot. I'm not gonna let him mess with me like that again!"

Sensing that it would be a bad idea to go down that path any further, Valerie decided it was time to go. "Well, I'm happy for you," she said. "I mean, that you finally had sex. Not that it was with a guy you hate."

"I _don't_ hate him!" Angelica burst out. "I mean, not totally! I hate that I don't hate him! I hate that there's a part of me that likes him. It's very hard to throw him off because of that!"

"Well, we'll find you a distraction soon," Valerie promised and opened the bedroom door. "You're pretty. It shouldn't be difficult."

"I hope not," Angelica answered, pulling the covers over herself. "Cause the way I feel now...it would do me a lot of good if it just went away."

* * *

"Ah, Dexter!" Lucifer exclaimed the next afternoon as Dexter timidly entered his office, holding a shaking tray of tea and scones along with some tiny cucumber sandwiches for if Ellie came in any time soon. "You came with my snack. Good!"

"Oh, so you're in a good mood," Dexter said as his boss came to take the shaking tray out of his hands so it wouldn't spill and then pour himself a cup of tea as the demon watched, hopping from foot to foot. Cause while it might seem good that Lucifer was happy, sudden changes of mood were common with him and he could be angry again any minute.

But Lucifer said nothing as he put his teacup down and went back to peering at a file in his lap. When he noticed that Dexter was still waiting, he didn't look up, but said in a neutral voice, "Thank you for bring my tea. You can go now, Dexter."

"What are you doing?" Dexter asked, trying to peer at the file. "What's that? Can I help?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "You've done your good deed and now you can leave and do what you choose. What I'm looking at is nothing you need to concern yourself with, I promise."

There was a silence and then Dexter decided to make his exit, leaving to go look for Miss Ellie, his heart racing with nervousness and his breath picking up. Maybe she could tell him what was going on if Lucifer wouldn't.

But unfortunately, she was just as clueless as he was. "You mean he wouldn't tell _you_ what's in that damn file either?" She asked. "I thought he told you everything! I was gonna ask _you_ what was going on."

"So what are we gonna do?" Dexter questioned. "I've known him for too long to think that being left in the dark like this about anything is going to lead to something good."

"And he shouldn't leave _me_ in the dark about whatever it is!" Ellie proclaimed, feeling afronted, standing up, changing into a slinky, low cut black velvet dress with a high slit up the side. "I'm his wife! I deserve to know everything! Which is exactly why I'm gonna try and get it out of him right now!"

"I'd be careful if I were you," Dexter warned before she left. "I pressed the issue and he didn't react well."

"No offense, but you're you and I'm me and I think I'll be able to appeal to him in a way you just can't," Ellie said. "Trust me."

"You have a point," Dexter nodded. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Ellie returned with a smile and set off for Lucifer's office, where she knocked on the door and was met with a surprising response when she identified herself from the other side of the door.

"You can come in, but say whatever you have to say quick. I don't have much time to mess around."

So she did, sashaying to the desk and sitting down on it. "Are you sure?" She asked, trying to peek at the file. "I got a new outfit, see? Are you _positive_ you can't take a break for even just a teensy little while?" She leaned over the file, giving him an eyeful of her chest, which was practically bursting out of her dress. He tried to ignore her, but finally, he just couldn't anymore.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Eleanor!" He cried irritably. "Move out of the way! Can't you see I'm working?"

"Can't you see I want to know what's in that file?" Ellie shot back and finally sat up. "I don't like you keeping things from me!"

"I deserve to have a few secrets that don't involve you," he told her. "I don't know why you're worried. Has Dexter been putting troubling thoughts in your head that don't mean anything? Did he send you to spy cause I won't talk to _him_ , either?"

"We talked about it," Ellie admitted. "It's nothing bad, is it? Can I at least know that? It would ease my mind so much."

"All right," Lucifer sighed and stood up. "It's something neither you nor Dexter need to worry about. Not some evil plot to destroy the earth. Now that I've told you that, you can go on your way."

"Really? Ellie asked, posing. "You're not even gonna comment on the outfit? Cause I look hot in it."

"I'm sure you do," Lucifer replied without looking up. "I'll see it later, where I will heap it with praise for the few seconds it will be on you before it's ripped from your body and tossed in a corner by our bed but for now, I just need you to go, all right?"

"Fine," Ellie replied and strode back to the desk, taking every cucumber sandwich she could grab. "But I'm taking these before I go!"

"Fine," Lucifer told her. "They were meant for you. Enjoy them. _Away_ from my office!"

"All right," Ellie nodded. "Goodbye."

* * *

After a long day of flitting from project to project, Angelica was home and trying to relax. It wasn't something she was good at, but she knew that if she didn't slow down, at least for a little while, she would wear herself out. Especially since she'd been feeling weird all day.

She relaxed in a chair in her room and tried to look over the project notes she'd taken while drinking a cup of peppermint tea, but she couldn't focus. She had a very dry and academic style of note-taking that put her to sleep. And as she drifted off, she saw a naked Sam Jr. dancing behind her eyes.

"No!" She cried, snapping out of it. Her body was warm now. She grabbed for her tea, took a drink, and tried to calm herself, putting the notes down and grabbing a book instead. But she flipped through five pages of _The House of the Seven Gables_ before losing her concentration, letting out an angry grunt, and throwing it against the wall before reaching under her skirt and giving herself a rub. But that wasn't good enough. She'd have to go into her sister's room and see if Valerie had anything better. She knew she did. She just had to find it.

She stormed into Valerie's room, glad she wasn't there, and began opening drawers and throwing things on the floor in pursuit of what she wanted. Finally, she found one in the back of the bottom drawerer of the dresser: a bright pink vibrator. Without even taking time to clean up the mess that would betray her presence, she grabbed her prize and headed back to her room, getting under the covers and taking a deep breath before slipping the vibrator inside herself and pressing the button. It worked for a little bit, but definitely not as well as she was expecting. The fact that it wasn't exactly comfortable meant she'd probably put it in wrong. She really should have studied it before she decided to go and use one. Sighing, she took it out just in time to have the door burst open, bringing her face to face with her glowering sister.

"What happened to my room? It's a mess! If you're gonna go in there and borrow my stuff, ask first and then clean up! What were you looking for, anyway?"

Blushing furiously, Angelica sat up and handed the vibrator back to her sister. "I was looking for this. I thought it would do me some good. I've been tingly all day."

When Valerie took it back and wiped it off, a smile spread over her face. "I can't believe this!" She cried. "I'm so proud! I feel like a mother on the first day of kindergarten!" She came and hugged her as a fiercely resistant Angelica tried to pull out of her grip so she could grab her underwear and forget this whole mess ever happened. "You're like a horny little baby just taking her first steps!"

"Would you let me go?" Angelica snapped. "I just...I want to get my underwear on!"

"Okay, you do that!" Valerie nodded. "I'm gonna go get a camera so we can capture this very important moment."

"No," Angelica groaned as Valerie ran out of the room. "I don't want to remember this at all."

Valerie returned and snapped an extreme close up that rendered her sister temporarily blind and then finally left, leaving a very embarrassed Angelica to bury herself under the covers and not come out for several hours as she tried not to think about how all the vibrators in the world wouldn't help her. What she needed was Sammy and there was no way around that.

* * *

After a warm bath and some chamomile tea, Angelica thought she would be able to sleep soundly that night, but of course...no.

Instead, she tossed and turned , then ended up on her back, staring at the ceiling, panting heavily.

But just as she was about to get up and go to the kitchen for cereal (which was her usual remedy for not being able to sleep at night), her cell phone, which was on her bedside table, rang. She saw who it was and groaned. He was the last person she wanted to talk to now. Absolutely the last. How much more crap was she going to have to endure today?

"What do you want?" She snapped. "I'm trying to sleep! Who calls at this time of night?"

"If you were truly tired you wouldn't have answered so fast," Sammy told her. "I'm touched that you didn't make me wait. You must really care. Or you must miss me. Do you miss me, baby?"

"Oh, don't you call me 'Baby' you asshole!" Angelica whispered angrily. "I don't miss you at all! You can go to Hell for all I care. I'm sure Dad's people would find a nice place for you!"

"Only if you come with me," Sammy returned. "I always wanted to be with you some place warm!" Then she heard him chuckle. "What are you doing?" He finished.

"None of your damn business," she snapped. "Nothing you need to know or deal with or whatever. I can take care of myself."

"Oh, right," Sammy nodded. "Sure. I can see that. You sound _extremely_ relaxed. What did you try? Sex toys? You're probably too lady-like to use your hands. How did that work out? How long did you last before you realized it wasn't getting you anywhere?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Yeah, you do," he said. "And _I_ can't stop thinking about it either." He paused. "So...when do you want to do it again? Cause I assume you do."

"I don't want to do it again!" Angelica shouted. "And how dare you talk about me in such a way? How dare you speculate about how I handle my body? You're disgusting!" She was glad he couldn't see her cause she knew she was blushing furiously and trying to ignore the annoying tingle that his voice was making in her panties. When would it stop?

"It's not speculation if I'm right," Sammy crowed. "But if it's any consolation, even at this hour of the night, I would be glad to come by and help you out if you want. Just say the word."

"I will when Hell freezes over," Angelica told him.

"I can wait until then," Sammy said easily. "It couid happen. And sooner than you think." He then burst out laughing, a beautiful laugh that almost made Angelica climax by itself.

"Okay," she got out. "What kind of help would you give me?"

"To release all this sexual tension you have because of me!" Sammy told her. "If I'm making you hot, the least I can do is help you end it. And I'll make it nice, I promise! Make sure though, that you wear those same black panties you wore before or a pair like them. I liked those."

"You think you're so great that you can make demands on me now?" Angelica scoffed. "Well, hate to break it to you, but I'm really not that desperate."

"Yeah, you are!" Sammy crowed. "You want me _bad!"_

"Oh, fuck off!" She cried. "I'm gonna hang up now!"

"No, don't!" He cried as her finger hovered over the button. He was much more serious now. Honest, sounding like someone she could actually talk to. "I do want to help. So just listen to me."

"Does your help involve you coming anywhere near me?" Angelica asked suspiciously.

"No, we can do it over the phone," Sammy assured her. "Are you wearing underwear?"

"Yes, but I don't see what that has to do with anything," she said. "What are we doing?"

"Just trust me, all right?" Sammy told her. "I know it's a lot to ask, but if you want to feel better at all, you might want to."

"Fine," Angelica huffed. "What do I do?"

"First, slip your hand down your panties," he said.

"What?" She cried. "What?"

"Just do it!" He told her. "You said you would trust me!"

"All right," she sighed and did it. "Now what?"

"Shut your eyes and pretend I'm there," he continued.

"That shouldn't be so hard," Angelica sighed and began rubbing herself. "It's because I see your stupid handsome face all the time that I've been having all this trouble."

As he continued to give her instructions, she kept touching herself, his voice doing an even better job of arousing her than her hands had.

"Keep talking," she urged, her hands on her breasts. "This is working."

"Good," he told her. "What should I say?"

"I don't care!" She said. "Just talk! Your voice does things to me!"

So he kept talking, all the while trying not to get aroused by the moans and heavy breathing coming from the other end of the line. Finally, he heard a sharp intake of breath, a gasp, and an "Oh, Sammy, _thank you_!"

"You're welcome," he said. "My pleasure."

"Or mine," Angelica said.

"Right," Sammy nodded. "Exactly. That took longer than I thought it would."

"I just wanted you to keep talking so that was on purpose," Angelica informed him coyly.

"So tell me..." he said. "What were you doing when it happened? What pushed you over the edge?"

"Well, my hands were on my breasts and I..." she paused. "I can't tell you," she said. "I'd be too embarrassed."

"No, go ahead, please," Sammy insisted. "It's not like I'm gonna tell anyone."

"Okay," Angelica got out. "I grabbed my nipple and squeezed, and it kinda hurt but it also felt good, and that was when it all...when it all went boom."

"Right," Sammy nodded, picturing her pert, pink nipples, which had tasted so good to him. "Good..." Then he made a noise as he shifted position. He was hard as a rock now. He'd only meant to do her some good, but now he had to deal with it himself. "So...how do you feel?"

"Good," she hissed. "Great! And I hate you for it!"

"Well, I wouldn't think you'd feel otherwise," he chuckled and then wished he hadn't. "Glad I could be of help, Princess. Now I have some things to deal with that I hate _you_ for too, so...goodnight, baby."

"Princess? Baby? Why can't you just call me Angelica for once?" She huffed.

"Goodnight, _Angelica_ ," he said emphatically. Then he finally, mercifully, ended the call, leaving her able to get some sleep at last.


	91. May The Best Man Win

"Sorry I won't be able to visit tonight," Toni told Adrian. "I have some things I need to do. Important things."

"That's okay," Adrian replied. "I have work."

"You...you do?" Toni wanted to know. "Oh-okay." This was inconvenient, but she made a note about finding another window to get through in order to get into Lucifer's mansion. She would have just gone through her usual window and did what she had to to face Adrian, but now that they were intimate, that could lead to distractions, and at this point, with her work not done, distractions were not something she could afford.

"Is it a problem that I have work?" Adrian wanted to know. "Are we gonna have a problem?"

"Of course we're gonna have a problem!" Toni told him. "But you have to know that I'm not doing this out of spite. I have my reasons!"

"I bet you do," Adrian nodded. "And I have my reasons as to why I have to stop you."

"The only difference is that my cause is noble and you're just doing it for the money," Toni spat. "Can't you just turn your back for one night? If you let me do what I need to do, then I'll be done and I won't come back."

"You seriously expect me to believe that?" Adrian scoffed. "Cause I don't."

"Fine," Toni shrugged, grabbing him and kissing him hard before slapping his butt. "May the best man win, then."

"I will," Adrian shouted after her. "Don't worry."

* * *

"I really have to compliment you," Lucifer told Adrian that night. "Whatever you've chosen to do with the woman who kept breaking into the house, it was effective. She hasn't come back for ages. Did you kill her?"

"Well, we could say safely that she's died in his arms several times," Kai grinned and nudged his friend. "Isn't that right, Adrian?"

"Why are you here again?" Lucifer questioned. "This house has so many rooms. Can't you find something to do with yourself? Or go call your wife for a date. You're not stuck here, you know."

"I thought I was," Kai said. "I thought that was the whole point of this punishment."

"Well, since I've allowed you to see your wife and leave, it's obviously not, right?" Lucifer asked impatiently and thrust some money at him. "Call your wife and take her out to a movie. I think it'll be good for you."

"You know, if you want me to leave, giving me a giant wad of money is a perfect way to do it!" Kai grinned broadly and counted the bills in his hand. "All right, I'll go. But don't expect me back early tomorrow."

"No, take all the time you need," Lucifer replied in a deadpan voice. "We all think you could use it." Once Kai was gone, Lucifer turned back to Adrian. "How you ever had the patience to be his friend when you've admitted to not having patience for much else astounds me."

Adrian chuckled. "He only acts the way he does so you'll do precisely what you just did: get annoyed and pay him to leave and go do something that's actually fun."

"Well, all right," Lucifer nodded. "I'm not sorry. We all get something we want. There's no harm in that. Now, where was I?" He paused. "Oh, yes," he grinned. "Would you care to enlighten me about just how you got rid of our burglar?"

"Do I have to tell you or can it be my secret?" Adrian wanted to know.

"I'd like for you to tell me," Lucifer replied. "Please."

Knowing then that there was no way around it, Adrian got out a version of the truth. "There is something about this burglar that would make some people in this house very upset if she were killed so what I've done is worm my way into her confidence," he said. "I know exactly when she's coming, so she's not going to take advantage on the scale that she has before. It's almost like a game between us now who will come out on top."

"You do whatever gets results," Lucifer told him. "Just make sure that in the end, the house is still in one piece, all right? I'm very attached to it."

"Sure," Adrian nodded. "Of course."

* * *

That night, Adrian prepared himself for Toni's appearance. Because it was now framed as more of a game between the two of them, he thought he would be gentlemanly and give her a good start, considering the bomb he was planning on dropping on her. Since that was the plan, he didn't camp out in the usual room by the usual window, although he wished that she would try and enter some place else to shake things up.

He picked a room next to the usual room and waited, after telling all of Lucifer's other staff (and Maeve) to just leave Toni alone when they saw her and let him handle everything.

"Are you sure you can?" Maeve asked. "She's bested you several times. I suggest you have backup."

"You might suggest it, but I don't need it," Adrian informed her. "Things are different now. We deal with each other differently. No one will be hurt."

"Fine, but if you _are_ after this giant show of bravado, don't come crying to me," Maeve scoffed.

Adrian then went back inside, sat in his chair, and waited, eating a roast beef and cheddar cheese sandwich that he'd gotten from the kitchens to sustain him until Toni came. As he'd told Maeve, he was pretty sure they wouldn't fight, but it wouldn't hurt to have energy in case they did.

When he finally heard the thump and the grunts of exertion as she climbed up the side of the wall to the window that would get her into the house, he got up and, with half-eaten sandwich in hand, called out to her with a grin and a wave with the hand that held the sandwich. "Hi, there," He exclaimed. "Whatcha doin'? I've been waiting for you, sweetheart!"

Toni looked in his direction, groaned and rolled her eyes. He'd moved to another room. He was gonna let her have a clean shot to get in the house. No wonder it had been so easy to get past the guard. He was probably behind it, which meant he had something much worse in store for her inside. What the hell was it? She almost didn't want to know. She couldn't see his face clearly but there was no doubt he was having a good chuckle at her expense. Getting best of her was probably making his night. Why had she told him she was coming tonight at all? Why? Maybe the Dragon was right: having this attachment to him was making her stupid. Maybe. She had to end this. She had to remember where she stood and what she was supposed to do.

She got onto the balcony by way of a daring leap that could have gone wrong in so many ways and was face to face with him before responding, her fists clenched, and her chin up as she took a breath into her lungs. "Don't make me hurt you, Adrian. Just let me do what I have to do and I won't have to."

"Oh, I know you won't have to," Adrian replied after he finished his sandwich and wiped his hands on his jeans. "In fact, since I know what you want, I thought I would be able to help.

"What?" Toni asked, feeling absolutely dumbstruck, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Just what the hell do you mean by that?"

"I have a little surprise for you," he said and called over his shoulder. "Lauren! Vincent! Toni is here. You can come _out_ now!"

Then Toni's jaw dropped as her sister came out onto the balcony, her hand gripping that of a boy she'd never seen before. Then, both girls were in tears as they embraced for the first time in years.

"I'm so glad to see you," Lauren said. "I've missed you so much! I thought that after Mom and Dad died, I didn't have any family left at all. But I'm so glad I was wrong!"

"Yeah, me too," Toni nodded. "I called you once before, or I tried to, but when you answered, I was so scared to talk more because I thought you wouldn't want to hear from me. Do you?"

"Yes," Lauren sniffled. "I do."

But the mood quickly changed when Toni's eyes moved from Lauren's face to her huge belly. Her eyes narrowed, she bared her teeth, and her body tensed as she turned and gave Vincent such a hard slap that he fell down to the ground.

"What did you do that for?" Lauren cried. "Toni, why did you hurt Vincent?"

"Cause of how he hurt _you_!" Toni yelled. "He made you into a creature just like him. I can feel it! And on top of all that, he's got you expecting a monstrosity too." She pinned him to the balcony floor with her knee so he couldn't get up as Lauren tried to get her to calm down. To understand just what had happened.

"He didn't hurt me!" She cried. "Toni, please try to understand! He's my _husband_ now and if it weren't for him, I wouldn't even be here. I would be just as dead as Mom and Dad are. Heck, did you know that he tried to save Mom and Dad too, but they were so hurt that Dad told him it was a waste of time and to save me cause I was the only one who still had a remote chance of getting out alive?"

"See, there you go!" Adrian broke in with a nervous laugh, trying to ease the tension and pull Toni off poor Vincent. "Vincent is _good_ and you're hurting an innocent man who allowed you to have a sister. This is _clearly_ making you much more overwrought than I intended so maybe you should go somewhere else until you've had a chance to calm down, hmmm?"

"Fine," Toni hissed, moving her knee and finally allowing Vincent to take a deep breath as Adrian helped him up. He'd probably taken the punishment for Lauren's sake. Otherwise, Adrian was sure Toni would have been worse than dead. Once he was standing up straight, they all watched Toni jump off the balcony without so much as a 'Goodbye', and afterward, they stared at one another in stunned silence.

* * *

Just as she told herself, Toni went to see the Dragon after the debacle at Lucifer's mansion, and as she surmised, her mentor was not happy at her lack of progress.

"I just gave you _one j_ ob to do!" The woman cried and whipped her shoulders, which made Toni cry out in pain. "One job! And you come back with nothing. No progress made at all. No sign that you've caused Lucifer Morningstar pain, no nothing!"

"I know I've been off but that's why I came back!" Toni said, her voice full of pain as she sucked in a breath. "I wanted you to help me focus again!"

The Dragon scoffed, pushing her long dark hair from her eyes. "You certainly need it," she spat. "I don't think I've ever had so much trouble with one of my students in my whole life. And that's a _long_ time! What is going on? Why have you done nothing? What is making you so emotional that you can't do what I ask when I thought it would be so simple?" She scoffed. "Human emotions. I hate them. I _despise_ them! Even when I do my best to get rid of them, they always come creeping back and ruin everything. And when something as important as conquering Lucifer Morningstar is on the line, that can't happen."

"So what happens now that I've failed?" Toni asked, still wincing. "Will you kill me? I'm ready for it. I don't have much to live for anyway. You know that."

"And I think you're lying," The Dragon shot back, getting up in Toni's face. "No, I don't think I'll kill you. You still have a job to do. But I just thought of something that might help."

"Oh yeah?" Toni asked. "What's that?"

The Dragon grinned wickedly in a way that sent chills down Toni's spine, then called for one of her demon henchmen Otto, a rough, burly man with angry dark eyes and a perpetual frown. When he'd come and was positioned so that the Dragon was standing with Toni on one side and Otto on the other, She reached into both their chests and pulled out half of each of their hearts, throwing Toni's away and shoving Otto's in to make it whole.

"There," she said to a shocked Toni. "That's better. That should work."

"What have you done?" Toni spoke in a whisper after letting out a gasp and falling down to her knees while Otto, whose body could just regenerate when needed, walked away without a scratch. "What have you _done_?"

"It's for your own good," The Dragon whispered, the blood still on her hands as she ran her fingers through Toni's hair. "Just wait and you'll see. I promise."

* * *

Adrian didn't see Toni for several days after he revealed Lauren to her and it made him wonder whether he'd gone too far. He hadn't meant to. He'd only meant to give her what he knew she wanted more than anything: a reunion with her sister, the only biological family either of them had left, at least until Lauren and Vincent's baby was born. But he should have counted on her reacting badly. Once again, he'd driven away a woman by being an idiot. Why was this such a habit with him?

To try and get his mind off it, he went hunting, and when he returned, he almost let out a scream. There was a body sprawled out in front of his front door. It was Toni! He thought she was dead at first, but after he looked at her more closely, he saw that she was breathing, if just barely.

He let out a cry as, after he opened the door and picked her up to carry her inside, she began snapping at him. Fangs! She had _fangs!_ Someone had changed her. But who the hell would have done it to her? And why? Full of anger, he zipped her into his room and cuffed her. He would have liked to gag her too, but she wouldn't be able to tell him what had been done to her if he did that.

He went into the bathroom and yelled and screamed to get out all the anger he felt so it wouldn't inadvertently make him hurt Toni and then, when he was calm, he came out and grabbed her as she was trying to make her getaway, holding her close, even as she hissed and spat and tried to break free. "I don't know what happened to you," he said. "But we'll...we'll deal with it. And I will find out who did it. I'll find them and I'll _kill_ them. This should _not_ have happened to you." He paused and bit his wrist. "But first I have to take care of _you_. You showed surprising stamina when I brought you into the house, but it didn't last long, did it? When you were face down on my doorstep and barely breathing, _that's_ how you really feel now, right? How long has it been since you've had blood? Have you fed at all? Have some of mine. You'll feel much better, I promise."

"No," she got out in a hoarse whisper. "I can't! I won't become a demon! I'd rather die than become a demon! Don't you understand? Please respect that, Adrian. In fact, rip out my throat. Drain me dry. Just...end this for me. Please."

"I won't," Adrian shook his head, putting a hand on either side of her face and then leaning down to kiss her lightly. "Tell me who did this to you."

"The...the Dragon," Toni got out. "The Dragon did it. But you can't kill her. She's too powerful. Don't even think about it."

"Okay," Adrian agreed. "Not that she matters to me when _you're_ on my bed dying. Now please, just drink my blood. I know it's a gross thought, but damn it, it will keep you alive!"

"And when I want to _die_ , that's not much incentive to do what you want, is it?" Toni asked, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Why is it so important to you that I live?"

"Because I'm a selfish bastard, all right?" Adrian got out, his voice breaking just a little. "Because there have been so few people in my life that I've even felt _remotely_ close to that when I find them, I just can't let them go and now that includes you! I've screwed up every relationship I've ever been in, but I can't do that with you. This could be the _one time_ that I save my relationship instead of ruining it, because this is the one that's worth saving! Don't you understand? If it's being a supernatural creature that you're worried about, I can help you. It's really not so bad once you're used to it."

"I don't _want_ to get used to it!" She said. "I know that hurts, because I _do_ like having you in my life, but...there are so many reasons that you and I can't be together. So many risks. Please don't make me try and explain. Just trust me."

"If you can't tell me what these reasons are, I'm not trusting you," Adrian said firmly. "My god, you're the only person I've met who's just as stubborn as I am about the same things and it's _really_ irritating."

"I'm just trying to protect you," Toni told him. "Don't you get that, you ass?"

"No," Adrian said and picked her up. "I mean, thanks for caring and all, but I can take care of myself, you, and whatever else comes along. There's no need for you to make such completely final gesture as dying to protect me from whatever is out there." He then sat her in the shower and said, "You drink from me or I spray you. With water that is very, _very_ cold. It should be a simple choice, really."

"Do your worst," Toni spat, feeling a little stronger now.

So he did after releasing her from the cuffs and she let out a shriek as her face, neck, hair, and clothes were covered in ice cold water. "Stop! Stop!" She cried at last. It was worse than any pain the Dragon had ever inflicted on her. "Okay, I'll drink the damn blood! Just turn off that water!"

"Are you lying to me?" Adrian asked. "Are you really gonna drink my blood like a good girl when I turn the water off, or are you just saying that to get me to stop, whereupon you'll keep refusing it?"

"No, I'll drink it, I _swear_!" Toni said.

When he noticed that her body was racked with shivers, he took pity on her and decided to trust her. He turned the water off and helped her undress before drying her off the best he could and holding her close for several minutes to warm her up. When she was no longer cold to the touch, he then put her in one of his bathrobes, which was a bit big for her, but at least it would keep her warm too.

Then he brought her some warm coffee and soup and then when she'd consumed both of those, he sat next to her and put his arm around her. "Are you ready?" He asked. "I think I should give you my blood now."

"If it has to be done, we might as well do it before I chicken out," she agreed.

He played with her hair and kissed her soundly, gently massaging her neck until she seemed relaxed and then...then he offered her his wrist.

"No," she pushed it away. "I...I want your neck instead."

"All right," Adrian nodded. "Whatever. I'm flexible."

She then ran her fingertips lightly over his neck and then softly kissed it over and over before he felt the pain of a light nip.

"Come on," he told her, a grin of challenge on his lips. "You can do better than that. I'm not delicate. It won't hurt me. Really go at it!"

"If you say so," she said. Then she bit down. _Hard._ The pain made him laugh out loud, which she took offense to, thinking he was laughing at her. She took all she wanted and then, feeling stronger than she had in days, straddled him, pinning him to the mattress. "What's so funny?" She asked, her eyes becoming inky and black. "Are you laughing at me?"

"No!" He said seriously. "It's just how I deal with pain. I _swear_!"

"It better be," she hissed and then smiled, leaning forward and nibbling on his ear before whispering, "You ever done it with a demon before?"

He had, but Adrian decided this was one of those times that honesty was not the best policy.

"No," he replied with a wicked smile. "Wanna be my first?"

"Yeah!" She grinned as she got off him and they got out of their clothes. Then she straddled him again and rode him hard. "You better believe I do!"


	92. Angelica Loses Another One

"You know, if you're not feeling well, we don't have to do this," Angelica told her date, Ron, as they parked on the shoulder of the road and he got out to be sick. "We can always wait."

"No, I-I'm fine," he told her and then straightened up. "It was only dry heaving. I'm fine." He was visibly sweating, then wiping his brow with a handkerchief he pulled out of his suit pocket before putting it back and getting behind the wheel. "Sorry about that. We'll make it to the restaurant on time, I promise."

But Angelica doubted this. He'd been ill since the second he'd picked her up from work to take her out, and nothing had improved.

"I don't know precisely what's wrong with you, but I really don't think you should be driving in your condition," Angelica fought with him. She managed to take possession of the wheel and things did not seem to be improving for Ron. He started having a seizure a mile or so from the restaurant parking lot and it distracted her so much that she drove into a tree, crushing his convertible. Cursing, she got out and checked on Ron, who, of course, was very dead. No nice neat heart condition for him, apparently.

Then, her stomach growled and she was torn between what to do first: Get food, or call the police to come and check out the accident. Or at least let someone know, if not the police. Cause with her dead dates piling up, they might start to get suspicious. So she started with Valerie, but her sister didn't answer. Neither did Vincent. Or her mom and dad. Her parents must've gone out, which was just as well. She didn't see her dad reacting well to this situation, especially since she'd been hurt in the process.

After declining to leave a message for her father, she put her phone down beside her, thinking if there was anyone else she could call. She groaned when it hit her. She didn't want to call _him_ but what other choice did she have? There was literally no one else who could help her. And she couldn't do it herself without arousing some sort of suspicion cause she wasn't good at stuff like efficiently hiding dead bodies.

Sighing, she called Sammy.

"Hey," he greeted her. "What's making you call me? Did you want to hear the lovely sound of my voice? Or have more phone sex? Cause I'm totally up for that. It worked so well last time!"

"No, actually," Angelica quickly nixed that idea. "Now's not a good time. But I _really_ need your help with something else. Something _very_ important. I've already called everyone else and you're the only one left!"

"Oh, well..." he chuckled. "At least I'm on the list. What's the problem?"

"I was on the way to a date and then I lost him in a car crash," she explained. "We're on the road a few miles from that Italian restaurant, La Bella. Do you know where I'm talking about?"

"Yeah," Sammy assured her. "I can figure it out. Are you okay?"

Angelica looked down at her dress. Her new black Dolce & Gabbana dress that she'd been waiting forever to wear. "I've been better," she told him. "I've been worse. But at least I'm alive, unlike Ron."

"And where's the dead guy now?" Sammy questioned. "Is he still in the car?"

"He's right by me," Angelica confirmed. "I really don't want to touch him, so can you hurry, please?"

"Sure," Sammy told her. "I'll be there ASAP."

"Thank you," Angelica told him. Then ended the call and zapped herself up some food to finally ease the growling in her stomach.

* * *

"Isn't it a bit callous for you to just be sitting there eating a cheeseburger while there's a dead guy beside you?" Sammy asked when he drove up beside her. "Have you even called the police yet?"

"I was going to!" Angelica defended herself. "But then I thought with my pile of dead bodies growing, that might not be the best idea. Say, when you sleep around do _your_ dates die unexpectedly like this?"

"I don't sleep around!" Sammy said, looking genuinely offended by the suggestion.

"Then what was that you told me about having three dates in one night?" Angelica pressed. "Was that just a lie?"

"Yeah," Sammy nodded. "I wanted to piss you off." He then took her sandwich and threw it away. "You got most of that done, now we have something more important to attend to: Help me pick up the dead guy."

"What?" Angelica cried, her nose crinkling in disgust. "I don't do that! This is a new dress! Why do you think I called _you?_ And it's not like I killed him! He died of natural causes."

"So why aren't you calling the police then, you silly?" Sammy asked.

"Cause I already lost _one_ date!" Angelica cried. "How's it gonna look if I'm found at the scene of _two_ deaths, regardless of cause?" She paused. "And there...there is another reason you should hate me! You get anywhere near me, you die!"

"No," Sammy shook his head. "I think you and I both know that when it comes to that, I have someone looking out for me." He then grinned as she growled and kicked him.

"Don't you laugh at me, you asshole! If you just came here to laugh rather than be helpful, you can leave right now and I'll handle this myself!" With her narrowed eyes, she hoped that looks could kill, but they didn't seem to be bothering him one bit.

"What?" He shrugged, grinning widely, his blue eyes full of enjoyment. "I didn't say anything! Except...are you killing them softly, baby?"

Her jaw dropped and he began chuckling behind his hand, which was totally ineffective cause of course she heard it, just like he wanted her to.

"This isn't funny!" She cried, one hand on her hip as she poked his chest with her finger. "My dates dying is a real problem! How am I supposed to have any sort of life if I can't date?"

"Yes, of course cause the real problem here is you and not all the men who die because you just can't listen to Grandpa's rules," Sammy rolled his eyes. "Of course." He paused. "I hope you gave him some good last moments before he died. Did you two at least make out?"

"That's none of your damn business, is it?" Angelica snapped, blushing bright pink.

"That blush goes well with your dress," Sammy observed.

As she continued to avoid his gaze, he moved closer to her. "I take it that the answer is 'No', he guessed. Then he grabbed her and pulled her body close to his, his hand cupping and squeezing her bottom, his lips against her ear as he whispered, "I bet you're really frustrated now, aren't you? I bet you really could use a good bit of release right now." He winked as Angelica whimpered in his arms.

Then her face inched closer and closer to his and just when he thought they were going to kiss her, her face changed, her gaze darkened, and she slapped him hard before pulling out of his grasp.

"Ow!" Sammy cried and put a hand to his reddening cheek. "What was that for? You called me to help you and I dropped everything to do it even though you're never anything but mean to me! I can't believe this is how you say 'Thank you'."

"Well, you know, if you think I'm cruel and ungrateful, it's your own stupid fault for continuing to help me whenever I ask, since you know you won't be adequately thanked, at least not on your terms," Angelica snapped. "Think about that." She got up and then frowned at poor Ron's body. "And I can't believe you," she told Sammy. "You were mad at me for being callous about the dead guy, but you wanted to make out next to him. _Now_ who's the callous one?" She hiked up her skirt and got to her feet, giving Sammy a view of her legs that he appreciated very much. Then, when everything was straightened out, she zapped up a shovel and handed it to him. "If you're gonna bury him, you're gonna need this. And I hope you don't need my help because like I told you, I don't do stuff like that."

"Oh, I remember," Sammy replied and began digging. He knew he could have just zapped up a hole, but he wondered if the sight of him doing manual labor would make Angelica have feelings, especially as his arm muscles rippled while he dug up shovelfuls of dirt. "You kill 'em but you don't clean up your mess."

"Well, that's cause I know you'll do it so much more effectively and swiftly than I would," She said. "Thanks again. Oh, and this is Ron's car. You can do with it what you want." She then zapped herself home, hoping that her parents wouldn't make too much of a fuss when she got through the door.

* * *

"Honey are you all right?" Ellie cried in horror as Angelica, wounded and dirty, made her way back into the mansion. "What on earth happened to you?"

"What do you think?" Lucifer asked as he ran over to examine Angelica too. "Dad took vengeance against the fact that she wanted to date someone else again, only this time, it wasn't as quick or trouble-free, it seems."

"Yeah," Angelica shrugged. "He was sick and then we were driving and he had a seizure. I was behind the wheel but I got so distracted by what was happening that I slammed the damn car into a tree and he died. But _I_ made it out in one piece at least."

"All right, that's it," Lucifer growled, his face fully transformed for a few seconds before Ellie grabbed his arm and he calmed down. "Go to your room, take a bath, do whatever you need to do to recover from all this, Angelica, dear. And I...I'll deal with it."

"But how?" Ellie asked. "What could you possibly do?"

"I don't know, Eleanor," Lucifer got out, his body rigid. "But I can't sit around and do nothing, can I? It was one thing when he was just killing her dates, but look at her! He's crossed a line!"

Meanwhile, after changing into gray sweatpants and a red t-shirt, Angelica asked one of the servant demons for a cup of tea and some ginger snaps and she rested in bed as she ate her snack, trying to calm her breathing. But it was hard to calm down after all the excitement. Her heart was racing, her body was warm, and (although she didn't know why she tortured herself that way) if she put her nose against fabric of her dress, she could still smell him. She finished her cookies and tea and didn't feel any better. Could Sammy solve this? Get rid of the annoying tingles? It wouldn't hurt to try!

She was all set to go find him when she remembered how he'd treated her earlier and then she decided she didn't want to reward that sort of behavior. There had to be other ways to get rid of this adrenaline. And she would find them.

To do it, she spent a long time in her mother's exercise room, pedaling until her body was covered with sweat. She then took a shower and changed into a new set of pajamas, but that didn't help, because guess who she'd thought of in the shower as the warm water cascaded over her body? Yeah, that's who.

Still not feeling desperate enough to give in, she headed to the kitchen and turned on the light, screaming in surprise when she saw her father sitting at the table. Not eating or anything, just sitting.

"What are you doing just sitting in the dark?" She asked.

"I find it sharpens my other senses," he told her. "Outside there is a tiny bird that just will not shut up!" He paused and got to his feet. "What about you? Having trouble sleeping? Still thinking about your accident? Are you in pain?"

"No, I'm...I'm good," she said. "I just...I'm hungry and I need some cereal. That'll help me sleep."

"Well, you have so many kinds," Lucifer remarked as he opened the pantry closet. "Which one do you want to go for now?" He took out a few options. "And why is it that you feel the need to put your name on every box?"

"Cause I don't want Valerie stealing my food," Angelica replied. She grabbed the Froot Loops box and groaned. "Damn, her, doesn't she _listen_? When a person labels things that means you're not supposed to eat them!" Growling, she put a spell on the other untouched boxes of cereal and poured herself some Froot Loops.

"Can I ask what spell you put on those?" Lucifer questioned.

"Oh, it's nothing," Angelica shrugged. "It'll just give Valerie or anyone else a little shock if they try and touch any of my cereal, that's all. Nothing big."

"All right," Lucifer nodded, feeling a bit like he did on occasions when Eleanor chose to go over to the dark side. "I'll remember that then."

"No, you're fine cause you always ask first," Angelica clarified. "It's Valerie who just takes."

"Well, all right," her father nodded. "Thanks for clearing that up for me." He watched her eat a few spoonfuls, then get up and throw the rest in the disposal.

"No good?" He questioned.

"No," Angelica stomped her foot. "It's not helping."

"Not helping what?" Lucifer wanted to know.

"Nothing, never mind," Angelica snapped. "I'm going out."

"All right," Her father called after her. "You do that! But be safe!"

"I will," She assured him. "I'm not gonna just wander about. I know exactly where I'm going."

* * *

That wasn't strictly true. She had no idea where Sammy lived. He had that horrible shack that he'd taken her to before, his parents' house, and he'd mentioned having an apartment, too. So that narrowed the list down a bit. But where to start?

She didn't feel much like wandering around at night, so she went back to her room, grabbed her phone, and called him.

"I can't believe I'm hearing from you already," he remarked, the smirk obvious in his voice. "I thought you could last longer!"

"Oh, shut up!" Angelica snapped. "I didn't call to be ridiculed. I hope you're back in that disaster area you call a home! I need to know where it is!"

"That 'disaster area' as you call it is not my actual home," he assured her. "Just a little cabin for when I go fishing. My apartment's nicer."

"Well, where is it?" She asked. "Tell me!"

"I'm not there," he said. "I'm at my parents' tonight. But I'm not giving you an address. You'll have to find it yourself."

"Why I oughta-" Angelica began.

"And I would get moving if I were you," he finished. "From the sound of things, you really need me, don't you?"

"Only because I don't want anyone else to die today," Angelica snapped. "Goodbye!"

* * *

It took a while to find out where he lived and after she climbed up the side of his house and into the window she hoped was his, she began making her way toward his bed. It wasn't hard to find, even in the dark, because he snored. Idiot. Why had he fallen asleep when he knew she was coming to have sex with him? Why was he so annoying all the time? She thought she could just sneak over to him without making so much as a sound, but cursed under her breath when she tripped over his guitar case that was in the middle of the floor.

Hobbling to his bedside, she didn't want to try and climb in, so instead, she just leaned over the bed and reached under the covers, her hand going down his stomach, reaching further and further, until she gasped: Damn it, he slept naked!

He snorted at her touch but he didn't awaken. So she decided to have a little fun with him. Give him some good dreams while hoping with all her might that he didn't wake up. She began gently touching him under the blanket while whispering in his ear, "How does that feel? Does it feel good?"

As soon as she started touching him, his snoring stopped and he began moaning.

Good, she thought. He's still asleep. But then, as the moonlight showed on his face, he opened one eye, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into bed with him, taking her underneath his body and kissing her soundly.

"Well, look at that," he grinned when they pulled apart. "I owe you an apology. You _are_ good with your hands!"

"Oh, no, I'm not!" Angelica shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie," he told her. "I felt you touching me!"

"That's not what happened!" Angelica refuted stubbornly. "You must have dreamed it. You must want me to touch you so bad that you have sexy dreams about it all the time!"

"Well, you're not wrong about that," he admitted. "I _do_ think about it quite often."

"You do?" Angelica asked. "But why?"

"Cause you're pretty and when we do this, you're happy and I like that," he said. "I know there's more to you than you like to show people."

"Yeah, I guess," Angelica sighed. "You won't tell anyone, will you?"

"No," Sammy assured her. "That's safe with me. I like it better that way."

Then Angelica smiled and zapped pants on him.

"What did you do that for?" He asked after pulling up the blanket. "That seems to go against what you came here for!"

"Not really," Angelica grinned. "I just want you to go to the foot of the bed and peel 'em off. Since you were already naked when I got here, you deprive me of half the show!"

"Are you gonna be willing to return the favor?" Sammy questioned. "That's the only way I'm doing it."

"Fine," Angelica agreed. "I'll do it, but I might look stupid. You know I don't think of myself as a sexy person." She paused. "But only _after_ you."

"Right, right," he nodded and winked. "I'm going." He stood at the foot of the bed while she watched, peeling off both his pants and his boxers while moving his hips from side to side.

Angelica couldn't take her eyes off him and he couldn't help but grin and run his tongue over his bottom lip as she pulled at her shirt. When he was completely naked, he watched her as she flushed and pulled off her clothes after getting off the bed, her eyes not meeting his the whole time.

"Oh what was that?" He asked when her shirt and pants were on the floor and she stood only in her underwear.

"I told you!" She said. "I'm not sexy!"

"Oh, sure you are!" He told her and zapped her clothes back on before getting close to her, his hands encircling her waist. "Come on now. Let's try this again. I'll help you."

She gave him a barely perceptible nod and leaned foreword to kiss him several times as he helped her peel off her shirt and her bra. Then he picked her up and set her in his bed. "But what about my pants?" She asked. "Don't we have to take my pants off, too?"

He put his hands on either side of her face and looked into her eyes. "Well, of course, but I don't want to overwhelm you, since your confidence in how sexy you are isn't exactly high. We'll just do a little bit at a time. Cause I want you to enjoy it too, when you dance for me. When you undress for me. I want it to be good for both of us."

"Where the hell do you come from?" She asked. "Why are you so much nicer to me than I know I deserve?"

"Cause you're so hard on yourself," Sammy told her and pulled her close. "Someone has to give you a break!"

She opened her mouth to protest this, but he put his finger over her lips. "Please stop talking," he urged. "Why are we talking when the whole reason you came over here was because you were desperate to have sex?"

"I was not _desperate_ ," Angelica corrected. "I just...I was just a little tingly. That's not the same as desperate."

"Fine, it's different," Sammy growled. "Now may I remind you that I'm naked here?"

"Oh, you don't have to remind me," Angelica returned, giving him a good once over. "I can see that."

"Good," he smiled and gave her a gentle push so that she fell back onto the mattress. "What do you say we get those pants off?"

"Yes, please," Angelica nodded, then let out a whimper as he swirled his tongue around her belly button, sucked gently on her nipples, slipped off her pants, and then kissed her tummy just above her panties.

"Take them off," she cried, squirming as her hips bucked forward. "Now, please!"

So he peeled off her panties and kissed up both her inner thighs before pleasuring her with his tongue, slowly and gently. As he'd thought, it didn't take long for her to climax.

"Good," she whispered as she played with his fingers, kissing each one. "Good. I wanna play with your hair." He pulled her up to sit and she did just that, asking, "Do you ever actually brush it, or you just wash it and let it dry?"

"Wash it and let it dry," He shrugged. "I've never really liked fussy hairdos or hair care products or anything."

"Ah," Angelica nodded. "Okay."

He took her hand and kissed the palm. "You know, you seem all right, but are you _truly_ okay? That accident could not have been easy. And you'll be happy to know that I got the guy good and buried. You won't have to worry about it anymore."

"Yeah, at least until the next one dies," Angelica scoffed. "Stupid Grandpa."

"If you know that dating other guys will get them killed, why do you do it?" Sammy questioned.

"Cause I don't like the idea of just being with someone because my grandpa wants me to," she said. "And you shouldn't either. You should be hurt and offended that the choice to date whoever you want has been taken away from you."

"But I'm not!" Sammy shook his head. "I'm fine with all of it. And what...what if this wasn't all your grandfather's doing? Not exactly? What if we just happened to end up together and then Grandpa jumped on the bandwagon? What if this crackpot theory that he's controlling everything is just a way to keep me at a distance?"

" _I_ don't think it's a crackpot theory," Angelica shook her head. "If it was all in my head, why do my other dates die? And don't just say I'm freakishly unlucky, cause that doesn't happen."

Sammy shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, honestly. I wish I did. I wish I could be more help."

"I know you do," she agreed. "But I don't want to talk anymore, all right? That's not what I came here for."

"Finally," He grinned and kissed her, the fingers of one hand going through her hair as he entered her with the finger of his other hand for a little bit before burying himself inside her as she laughed out loud. "I wondered when you were gonna remember that."


	93. Just Between Us

After a sound night's sleep, Angelica awoke the next morning, looking out the open window at the early moning sun. She smiled and took a deep breath before turning to stare at Sammy, who was still sound asleep beside her.

Grinning again as she looked into his handsome face, she reached out to gently trace the lines of his face, hoping that it wouldn't wake him up so she could make her getaway without trouble.

She kissed him gently on the forehead and then went to get out of bed and search for her clothes to dress, but froze as she heard a small sound at the doorway, and then saw that Sammy's mother her blonde hair in disarray from sleep, was standing against the doorframe, one eyebrow arched, and her hands crossed over her chest.

Angelica opened her mouth to speak, but Leslie stopped her, putting a finger to her lips and shaking her head before re-tying the belt of her bathrobe. Then, Angelica heard the voice in her head. Leslie's voice.

 _"Be quiet. I don't want you waking my son."_

She nodded and Leslie threw her a red t-shirt with whatever sports team on it that Sammy liked to follow. Since Angelica didn't follow that stuff, she couldn't tell one team from the other. After she pulled the shirt over her head, a petrified Angelica, knees shaking, even though she tried desperately to stop it, followed Leslie out of the room on tiptoe and into the corridor, with Leslie not speaking again until Sam's door was closed behind them.

"How'd you get your voice in my head?" She whispered. "Is that a witch thing?"

"Yeah," Leslie nodded. "It is. You could do it too, if you wanted. It's good for if you want to say something but don't want everyone and their brother to hear."

"Nice," Angelica nodded and then gave a nervous chuckle. "I'll have to look into that." There was an awkward silence before she burst out, gesticulating wildly, "What you saw between me and your son...it's not what it looks like!"

Leslie grinned, her arms on her hips. "Really?" She asked. "Are you sure, sweetie?"

"Well, you see," Angelica began to ramble, "I was in distress last night and I had to call Sammy to come and help me because no one else I called would pick up the phone. And then..." She faltered. "And then..."

"And then what?" Leslie pressed.

"And then he helped me and we...and I...we...um...damn!" Angelica couldn't find a way to continue the story that wouldn't end up embarrassing her, so she just stopped and caught Leslie's eye again.

"Really?" Leslie got out, a small grin on her lips. "That's your speech? I find you in bed with my son without prior warning and that's all you have in way of an explanation?" But she wasn't mean. She could tell Angelica was incredibly nervous. She just wanted the full story. To see how this interesting development had come about. That was all. "And you don't have to be so nervous. I'm not mad at you. You're a sweet girl and there's nothing wrong with what's going on with you and Sammy. I promise. I just...it's kind of sudden."

"Yeah, I know, right?" Angelica scoffed. "And thanks for thinking I'm nice and everything, but what's between me and Sammy is not what you think."

"Well, what is it, then?" Leslie questioned.

"I...um, uh...it's..." Angelica cleared her throat. "What I mean to say is..."

Then, Leslie's eyes suddenly narrowed. "When you say it's not what you think, are you trying to tell me that you don't really like my son and are using him? Is that why it's so hard for you to talk about it and why you're blushing all the time? Cause it embarrasses you to confess what you're doing with him to his mother?"

"No, no!" Angelica rushed to assure her. "It's not like that at all! I don't love him, but I don't hate him either! It's more complicated than that. And I've tried to turn him off me several times, but he just...he stubbornly comes back for more. He insists!" She paused. "Does that sound like I'm using him?"

"Well, I should hope not," Leslie retorted. "I really do."

"That's the truth," Angelica assured her with a blush, trying not to avert her eyes from Leslie's face.

When Leslie was sure Angelica was telling her the truth, she gave the younger woman a smile and took her hand. "I just wanted to be sure. But since you seem to be conflicted, let me give you a piece of advice. You can ignore it if you want to, but I seriously suggest you listen to me, because I was in your shoes not so long ago."

"You were?" Angelica asked. "Really?"

"Yeah," Leslie nodded. "I was. With Sammy's father. It definitely wasn't love at first sight for either of us. In fact, for a long time, the only thing I wanted to do when I set eyes on him was turn him into a frog!"

"Really?" Angelica smirked. "Did you ever do it?"

"I don't think so," Leslie shook her head. "But I can't exactly remember now."

"I see," Angelica grinned. "All right."

"Yep," Leslie nodded. "And he didn't like me much either. Every time we had karaoke night at Roxie's old bar, he would volunteer to sing Hall and Oates' 'Rich Girl' with as much venom in his voice as possible and dedicate it specifically to me."

"Wow," Angelica whistled. "Geez."

"Yep." Leslie nodded, shaking out her hair, still proud of that memory several years later. "That happened. But look at us now: married and with a son."

"Yes, well...thanks for the advice, but...things aren't like that between me and Sammy." Angelica paused. "I mean...me and your son."

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen someone blush so much in the course of one conversation," Leslie remarked. "But if you're not trying to hide feelings for my son, then just what is going on with you two? Do _you_ even know?"

Angelica shrugged as Leslie became serious again.

"I want to give you some more advice then," she said. "Sammy is my son, and he's very sweet and sensitive."

In spite of herself, Angelica had to scoff at that comment. "Sweet and sensitive? Doublful. You wanna hear the mean trick he pulled on me when I had amnesia? Did he ever tell you about it? Cause it was cruel!"

"Even so," Leslie responded, gripping Angelica's shoulder so tightly that she winced. "Even so, that was probably just some show he put on. Look at some of the lyrics of the songs he writes. They'll show you how he _really_ feels about you."

"I don't know if I want to," Angelica shook her head. "None of it is very complimentary, I bet. Why would I go out of my way to be insulted?"

"You and he seem to have very different ideas of how he views you and you must be woefully ignorant of what he thinks or just choosing to ignore it," Leslie pointed out. "I can't see him writing anything _less_ than complimentary. You want proof? Go and look before you have a sad man and an angry mother on your back."

"Yeah, sure," Angelica laughed nervously and rubbed her sore shoulder when Leslie finally let it go. "Okay, yes, ma'am." Then she let out a relieved breath when Leslie finally went on her way. That had been hellish. Thank Grandpa it was over.

* * *

Sammy was still asleep when she sneaked back into the bedroom as stealthily as she'd left it, intending to carry out her original plan of getting dressed and leaving before Sammy woke up and could delay her further. But then something caught her eye on the desk in the corner of the room, opposite the bed: an open notebook. She wasn't normally a snooper, but she couldn't help wanting to see what was in the notebook. The songs Leslie wanted her to look at, perhaps?

She flipped through them. From what she saw, they were good. But one song in particular caught her eye. It was called _Angie._

 _You show the world a pretty face, to hide the sadness underneath...thinking of who you could be, but so afraid, so lost, so sad. But not to me, you beautiful girl...you beautiful girl. Who only smiles when she thinks no one is looking, who seems to smile only for me, you beautiful girl, you beautiful girl..._

As she read the words of the song, she felt tears start to well up inside her. Then she heard Sammy grunt and pull his covers aside, so she slammed the notebook closed and turned away from the table.

"Good morning," he greeted her, his gaze still a bit sleepy, and his hair more mussed than usual. "Where have you been?"

"I wasn't looking at your private stuff!" She said. "How _dare_ you accuse me of that?"

"I didn't, you weirdo," he chuckled. "I just asked where you went."

"Oh, right," Angelica nodded. "I...had to pee and I got lost coming back from the bathroom."

"Well, thank goodness you found your way back to me." He grinned and patted the empty space on the mattress. "Now that you've done that, why don't you come back and join me?"

"Thanks, but I since it's morning now, I really think I should be going," Angelica told him. "But...but thanks for the rescue yesterday. I really...I can't thank you enough."

"You could by coming back to bed a little longer," Sammy told her. "It's only seven in the morning. That's still early!"

"Oh, all right," Angelica sighed and got back into bed, trying to remain as still as possible and not show much interest in him, which was very difficult, cause she knew he wasn't wearing anything.

"You look real good in my shirt," he told her with a smile. "What made you put it on?"

"I didn't want to be naked in case I ran into your parents on the way to the bathroom," Angelica told him. "It's perfectly reasonable."

"I suppose," Sammy nodded and grabbed her waist, pulling her close to him. "If you're not gonna make the first move," he whispered in her ear, "I hope you don't mind if I do."

She just made a noise in her throat, which turned into a moan as he began kissing and nibbling on her neck. "Good," she whispered in spite of herself. "Do it again, that feels good!"

He grinned, switching his attention to her lips, as he kissed her deeply. "Let's start over again," he suggested when the kiss ended. "Good morning, baby."

"Good morning," Angelica replied in a clipped tone as she tried to pull out of his arms because if she didn't do it now, she wouldn't leave at all, and she had _so_ many things to do today. "Now that we've exchanged pleasantries and kissed, can I leave? I'm very busy!"

"Why are you always so nervous around me?" He chuckled. "Why is it that whenever I get you to show any actual feeling, whenever you start to enjoy things, which is _okay_ , your response to feeling those things is to run away?"

"I-I don't know," Angelica got out as she ran her hand down his bare chest. "It's just how I am."

"No, it's not," he shook his head. "You know what you need?"

"What?" She questioned. "I'm almost afraid to ask."

"You need a shower!" He grinned. "Come on and join me! There's enough room for two!"

"Oh," I don't know if we should!" Angelica protested as he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom, pausing only to get her to open the door for him. "It might wake up your parents and that would be rude!"

"Oh, they're not gonna care!" He assured her. "They can sleep through anything!" He finally put her on her feet and turned the shower on as she stood still in his shirt. "You first," he said.

"Don't you wish?" Angelica scoffed. "Since you're the one who wants this so badly, _you_ go first!"

"Fine," he said and climbed in, keeping the door open so she could watch the water cascade over his naked body for a while. "I will. Now it's _your_ turn."

"I hope you don't mind this shirt getting wet," Angelica told him and stepped in the shower without taking the shirt off at all and then shutting the door behind her.

"Come on!" he groaned as he watched his favorite shirt become soaking wet. " _Seriously_?"

Angelica shrugged. "You wanted me to come in the shower, I came in the shower. Now, where's the shampoo? I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give my hair a wash while I'm in here." She then leaned down to grab the shampoo, letting out a shriek as he gave her a spanking. She whipped around, intending to pull his hair, but nearly slipped instead. He grabbed her and kissed her, giving a mental cheer as she struggled for only a second before kissing him back over and over again, moaning with pleasure every time their lips met. Those kisses were quick, but finally, he managed to get in a lingering one, bracing her against the shower wall and pulling up the shirt so that he could see she wasn't wearing anything underneath it. Shifting a little, he reached down and nudged her legs apart, even as he continued to kiss her, and then entered her over and over with his finger, followed by a good rub as she threw her arms around his neck, holding on tight and moaning his name.

"There you go," she muttered, the experience even better cause her eyes were closed tight and she could just feel the movement of her body. "Harder...harder...there you go!"

They rested for a little bit and then, finally, she took off the damn shirt, standing magnificently naked in front of him, a wide grin on her face. "There," she whispered in his ear. "I'm naked now. Are you happy?"

"Oh, yes," he nodded as she nibbled on his ear. "Of course!"

Then she grinned at him and licked her bottom lip before he felt her run a finger down the length of his cock before gripping it and squeezing it gently.

"There," he said. "That's good. I'm sorry I said you weren't good with your hands, cause..." He then broke off as he felt her let him go. He panicked for a moment, thinking she had fallen and was hurt, but no. She was..she was running her tongue...oh, geez! The things she could do with her tongue! He shut his eyes, balanced himself by putting a hand on either one of her shoulders, and tried his best to remember everything he was feeling because who knew when he'd get to feel it again?

Finally, he climaxed and, panting heavily, pulled Angelica to her feet. They just stood, holding onto each other as the water ran over them.

"That was nice," he told her. "Thank you. Thank you very much." He cupped her bottom and gently sucked on her nipples, sensing that she was just about to go.

"You're welcome," she gasped. "You...you're very welcome!"

Finally, reluctantly, he turned the shower water off and she took that as a sign it was all right for her to go. "I have to say I enjoyed myself," she told him as they got out of the shower. "But don't count on it happening again. It was a one-time thing."

"Oh, sure," Sammy nodded. "At least until you're horny again, which will be in what...one or two hours? I'll keep my phone on so your urges won't torture you too much. Of course, they'll have to torture you some because I want you to want me _bad_ when you come into my bed."

"Oh, yeah?" Angelica got out. "Well, you want me bad too!"

"Of course I do!" Sammy nodded, her attempt to humiliate him failing. "I always do."

"Well...good!" Angelica said. "And it should go without saying that you're not gonna say a peep about what we're doing to anyone, right? It doesn't leave the walls of this house."

"Not if you don't want it to," Sammy agreed, his blue eyes meeting her dark ones.

"Good," Angelica nodded and zapped on her clothes. "Thank you." Then, with a shake of her dark hair, she turned on her heel and strode out of the room, and zapping herself home, grateful that she didn't come from a family of morning people. That would save a lot of awkward explaining that she didn't want to have to do.

* * *

When she returned to her dark and blissfully silent house, she made her way to her room, pausing only briefly to assure one of the night watch that she belonged there and wasn't the intruder that Adrian was always tussling with.

She was nearly home free, her bedroom door insight as she bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry," she said in a low voice.

"Oh, my Grandpa!" Valerie replied, shining a blinding light in her sister's eyes and temporarily blinding her before hauling her into a nearby (and luckily empty) room. "Where the heck have you been?" She asked as she turned on the light. "Are you just getting in now?"

"Uh...yeah," Angelica nodded. "I was out late. Aren't you proud of me?"

"Well, considering that I'm well aware of the one man you can actually be out late with, no, not really," Valerie scoffed and gave her a look over, rolling her eyes when she saw that her sister's neck was covered in hickeys. "I really need to teach you to hide those," she said. "Couldn't you have at least worn a scarf or something? Luckily for you, they'll be gone soon."

"They might not be," Angelica told her. "Since they're an example of Grandpa being proven right and me proven wrong, they'll probably stick around for a bit."

"Well, in that case," Valerie told her, "may I repeat what I said about the scarf? You'll thank me later."

"Fine," Angelica nodded. "Can I just go to bed now? I think I can get one more hour in before I have to leave."

"All right, fine!" Valerie called after her. "You do that. Go to your room and think about who you've done young lady!"


	94. Trying To Be Better

"What's so funny?" Adrian asked Maeve as she followed him around the mansion, laughing in between bites of a pickle dipped in chocolate frosting. "Tell me. It's kind of creepy to have someone follow me around and laugh like a crazy person."

"Oh, I just..." Maeve shrugged. "I just think it's so funny how you couldn't catch the intruder," Maeve replied. "How could I not laugh at you failing to catch a human woman? That's just hilarious!"

Adrian's eyes roamed over Maeve's body. Her belly had expanded and she was now wearing sweatsuits instead of her usual snug jeans and t-shirts. "You be careful with that frosting," he told her. "You keep eating it and soon you won't be able to catch any intruders, either."

"Oh, would you shut up?" Maeve snapped. "So I've put a little weight on! Whose business is it other than mine?"

"Just saying that your job requires you to be nimble and physical and you can't do it looking like you're looking," Adrian said. "It's a fact."

"You know, I always wondered why your wife divorced you," Maeve spat. "Now I know why!" After blowing a raspberry at him, she wandered through the mansion and ran into Ellie.

"Sorry," Ellie apologized. "I didn't see you...Oh, Maeve!" She grinned. "What a nice surprise. Haven't seen as much of you as I would like!"

"Me either," Maeve nodded. "But I know you've been helping Angelica with her stuff when you're not at work. I'm used to that. It's how Junior is, too." She paused. "What do you know about that file Lucifer keeps walking around with? Every time I try and have a look, he takes it away from me!"

"Damn, you don't know either?" Ellie stamped her foot. "I was gonna ask you the same thing! So...no ideas at all?"

"Nothing definite," Maeve shook her head and offered Ellie some frosting. "Sorry."

"Oh, it's not your fault," Ellie told her and accepted what her friend was offering. "It's just driving me crazy! What could he possibly be hiding that he doesn't want me to know about? I'm a bit nervous, frankly." Then she turned and saw what Maeve had in her hand. "Oh, my gosh. Is that a _pickle_ that you're covering in frosting?"

"No," Maeve put it behind her back. "Of course not!"

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, it's a free country and you can eat pickles covered in frosting if you want to, but if there's something you'd like to tell me..."

"Actually there is," Maeve got out. "I wouldn't worry about Lucifer and that file. It's probably just a way for him to cope with Vincent and Lauren's news. That's what he does when he gets a shock: hides away and deals with it. Doesn't really talk to anyone until he's ready. And if you let him do his whole process, he'll get through it all sooner."

"Tell me about the pickles and frosting," Ellie insisted. "You don't just get up one day and decide to eat them."

"Fine," Maeve rolled her eyes. "I've been having cravings lately, okay? There, I said it. Are you _happy_?"

Ellie's eyes widened and she gripped Maeve's arms. "I know you won't like what I'm about to insinuate, but do you realize what that could possibly mean? Weight gain, strange cravings...and you've been getting up later in the morning, I've noticed."

"Yeah, cause I've been completely exhausted," Maeve nodded. "But that's what happens when I have to put in extra hours because Adrian 'can't be here' when it's his turn."

"I don't think it's any of those things," Ellie shook her head. "And do you really think you're just hungry and exhausted? You don't think you could be...pregnant again?"

"No, no..." Maeve's eyes widened and she backed away from Ellie, her body shaking. "Damn it, this is _not_ happening again!" She threw her pickle hard against the wall to emphasize her point.

"So you agree that there could be a chance that you're pregnant again?" Ellie asked.

"I suppose," Maeve shrugged. "I mean, after I ended the last one, your dad and I were more careful, but nothing short of not having sex is completely effective at preventing it, right?" She began crying and Ellie put her arms around her.

"It'll be all right," she told her friend. "We'll go to the hospital and get you tested, then you'll know for sure and then be able to plan accordingly. That's good, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Maeve nodded. "And I also suppose...that I should wait until I talk to your dad before I decide what to do. It's only fair since I didn't do that last time."

"You do whatever you want," Ellie said. "It's gonna be okay."

"Well, well, well...what's going on here?" Lucifer asked. "Everything isn't all right, obviously."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Maeve sniffled as Ellie handed her a tissue. Then she turned around to face him. "What can I do for you, boss?"

"Well..." Lucifer began. "There _is_ something that I-"

"Never mind," Ellie cut him off with a shake of her head. "Whatever it is, you can either wait or get someone else to do it for you. Maeve and I have somewhere we need to be. You can go back to your secret files in the meantime."

Lucifer scoffed and rolled his dark eyes. " _Again_ with the files, Eleanor? I've already told you that it's nothing bad. Why can't you just believe me?"

"Cause I would like to think that good or bad, you would tell me things," Ellie said. "That's what being married means!"

"Not if it's a pleasant surprise for you that I don't want to be ruined," Lucifer spat. "Now, didn't you say you and Maeve had somewhere you needed to be? You should probably go now."

"Fine," Ellie told him and hustled Maeve toward the door. "We're going now. Goodbye!"

* * *

As they arrived at the hospital, Maeve struggled in Ellie's grip as Ellie pulled her toward the check in desk. "We don't really do this now," she said. "I-I want to wait. Let's go home!"

"Oh, come on," Ellie tried to reassure her. "It's not so bad. It's just a little test. We'll get it over with and then you won't have it hanging over you anymore."

"Fine," Maeve sighed. "Whatever. Let's do the damn test. Although I don't know why I have to be poked and prodded. How sure are you?"

"I'm not," Ellie shook her head. "At least not completely. It's just a guess. And you're not gonna be poked and prodded."

Maeve sighed and let herself be brought into an exam room, and while she and Ellie waited for a doctor, Maeve she paced around restlessly. "Why did this happen to me again?" She huffed. "It was bad enough that it happened once. I'm gonna go straight to Hell, aren't I? Burned right up!"

"Oh, I think you're being overly dramatic," Ellie told her. "That won't happen. You didn't do anything wrong!"

"Yes I did!" Maeve cried. "What's your dad gonna say?"

"I think he was actually kinda sad when the first pregnancy was terminated," Ellie informed her. "He could be real excited to be having a second chance!"

Maeve gave a weak chuckle. "You know, me being pregnant makes a lot of sense, though, now that we're talking about it. I haven't been able to fit into my skinny jeans for weeks." She gave Ellie a look. "Do you think I'm stupid?" She asked. "I should have known right away."

"It's okay," Ellie told her. "You're not stupid. It'll all work out, whatever the doctor says."

The doctor appeared a few minutes later and they both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that it wasn't Junior himself (even though he was working that shift), but one of the other doctors who attended her.

"Okay, I'll need you to urinate in this cup," he said and handed it to her. "Then you bring me the sample and we'll go from there."

"Ugh," Maeve made a face. "All right."

"You need me to wait by the door for you?" Ellie asked.

"No, thanks," Maeve shook her head. "I think I can handle it." So she did and handed the doctor the cup. Then it was nothing but waiting. And waiting...and waiting. Then the doctor came back and announced that she was indeed pregnant.

"Thanks," Maeve sighed. "That...that's good to know."

"I'd like you to go have an ultrasound if you have the time," the doctor added. "Just so we can actually see your child and make a plan. Ones as large as yours seems to be need special attention."

"All right," Maeve nodded. "Okay." She let out a breath as she and Ellie followed the doctor to the ultrasound room. Ellie stood by the technician as she smeared Maeve's belly with jelly.

Then the image of what Maeve was carrying came on screen. "Oh," the technician said.

"What is it, Louise?" Ellie wanted to know. "Something bad?"

"No," Louise replied. "Nothing bad, Miss Ellie. It's just that she...your friend here is having twins."

"What...?" Maeve asked. She then sat up too fast, her head spinning as she fell back onto the pillow in a faint.

"Oh, my...is she gonna be all right?" Ellie asked Louise.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Louise assured her. "Happens often when women find out they're carrying more than one baby."

"You make a good point," Ellie conceded as they waited for Maeve to open her eyes. "I know that's how I was the first time I was pregnant and realized I was too big for there just to be one kid in _me_."

* * *

When they got back from the hospital, Maeve's twins were still on her mind, of course, and she locked herself in her room at her house, trying to get a steady breath and relax. "It'll be okay," Ellie promised. "I'll talk to Dad. Unless you want to."

"I will after you see what his response is to the news," Maeve promised. "I know it's cowardly, but I want to be sure of what I'll be facing before we talk about it. And you can go somewhere else. Do what you want. You've done enough for me. Just let me know what your dad says after you talk to him, okay?"

"That's not a problem," Ellie told her. "I can do that." So she went home and her father, happy when he answered on the first ring.

"Hi, Ellie," he said. "I have this thing now that tells me exactly when you're calling. That's why I answered so fast. What's up? Just calling to check on your old man? I know I haven't spoken to you in a while."

"You're at home, right?" Ellie questioned. "Not in the middle of your work? I wouldn't want to interrupt that."

"No, I'm at home, grabbing something," he said. "Just enough time to talk."

"First, I have something to ask you," he told her, his voice grave. "Someone told me they saw you and Maeve at the hospital earlier today. Not gonna ask what happened, but...are you okay? That's all I want to know."

"I had to bring Maeve in," she told him. "That's what I wanted to tell you about. Maeve is...she's pregnant again. You think that's a good thing, right?"

There was a long silence as Ellie's heart sank. He was in shock. He was angry. He was going to run again. Poor Maeve. But at least she would know.

Just as she was about to end the call though, her father spoke in a quiet but firm voice. "Where is she now?" He asked. "Maeve, I mean?"

"She's back at your house, in your room," Ellie replied. "At least that's where she was when I left her. And before you yell at me about that, she told me she wanted to be alone and then with you after you heard what was up."

"All right," Junior said. "So you wouldn't mind if I cut this conversation short and left?"

"No," Ellie assured him. "Go and talk to her. I think she'll be glad to see you. And thanks...thansk for sticking by her. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Junior sighed. "I'm really trying to do better this time. I am."

"I know," Ellie assured him. "I know."

After she ended the call and took a deep breath, she hoped intensely that Junior would take the news just as well when Maeve told him and that she could be at ease. She deserved that after what happened with her first pregnancy.

As she walked past the hall closet, she let out a shriek as a pair of strong arms grabbed her and pulled her into the dark. As she was pulled against a rock hard body, the smell of it gave away who held her as he kissed her forehead and played with her hair.

"Did I surprise you?" He whispered and then nibbled on her earlobe. "I hope you aren't frightened."

"Oh, no, darling," she said in her breathiest voice. "You didn't. I'm fine." She grabbed hold of his face and kissed him deeply. Then she cupped his bottom, squeezed, and pulled away.

"What?" He asked. "Where are you going? Why are you stopping? That was a great start!"

"Well, I wouldn't want to distract you from your precious file!" She said and made her way out the door, then locked it behind him as a very horny Lucifer pounded on it repeatedly and begged to be released in more ways than one.

"Hmmm...let me think," she said, a grin on her lips. "Bring the file and I just might be able to help you. Can you do that?"

"No!" He shouted after her when he finally managed to get out of the closet. Of course she wasn't around to hear him. He made an awkward walk to his bedroom, opening the door and entering as Ellie turned to face him.

"And you didn't bring the file," She sighed.

"Why would I?" He asked. "Why can't you just let me surprise you with something nice?"

"Can't you just give me a hint?" She asked after striding up to him and kissing him lightly before throwing her arms around his neck. "A little one? Please?"

"Well, you'll need a nice dress for it," he grinned. "Maybe you could ask your aunt. She's got a lot of the type you need."

"So...so it really _is_ a party?" Ellie asked. "You're not just telling me that so I'll lay off and you can do something sketchy?"

"No!" Lucifer shook his head. "I promise it's nothing like that. It's something fun, I swear!"

Ellie looked into his eyes for a long time to see if he was lying, something he picked up on right away.

"Eleanor," he asked. "Would I lie to you? Seriously, do you think that?"

"I would hope not," She replied. "All right, I'm gonna choose to believe you now."

"Oh, thank you for taking pity on a suffering man, Eleanor," he grinned at her.

"Well, you know I'm good at that," she reminded him with a grin. "Now, do you need help out of your pants? It feels like you do." She then zapped him naked and giggled at his wide eyes before he carried her to bed and undressed _her_ before kissing her soundly, running his hands over every inch of her body, and burying himself inside her over and over again.

* * *

When Junior finished his shift at the hospital, the first thing he did was cook Maeve dinner. She was probably nervous as hell if what Ellie had told him was true. He hadn't been lying when he'd told Ellie he was excited this time. And he hoped Maeve would give him the chance to say so.

When he heard the front door open, he resisted the urge to run at Maeve, give her a tight hug, and tell her how happy he was. Instead, he took a deep breath and walked in a more measured pace to join her, a good decision once he saw how hard she was crying.

"What's the matter?" He asked, pretending he didn't already know.

"I'm pregnant again," she got out after taking a deep breath. "I don't know how this happened. I tried so hard to make it so that it wouldn't!" She accepted his outstretched arms and buried her head in his shoulder. "And on top of all that, we're having twins this time! That's even more complicated than one baby! I can't be a mother to two babies!"

"You don't have to do it alone," he assured her as he rocked her back and forth. "We'll do it together, and as an added bonus, I'm a doctor, remember?"

"Yeah," Maeve said and gave him a small smile as he wiped the tears from her eyes. "I do, thank goodness. That makes it a little easier."

"Good," Junior told her before kissing her hair. "And I...I wanna thank you for trusting me to find out about this and help you make decisions about it. I know I've not always been the best in this situation, but...I want to try and do better."

"Thanks," Maeve told him. "That..that means a lot to me." She then took a deep breath and blew her nose one more time. "Two babies. My god. They seemed healthy though. The technician didn't say there were any problems."

"And did you happen to hear what sort of babies we're having?" He asked. Then he shook his head. "No wait, don't tell me. I mean, first, we're gonna go through with this together, right?"

"Yeah," Maeve nodded. "If you're up for it, I'm up for it. And it's two of the same sex. So either I'll be dealing with three of you or you'll be dealing with three of me."

"I know I should be nervous about that, but it's kind of exciting," Junior told her.

"Oh, yeah," Maeve grinned. "I can handle three of you. You think you could handle three of me if that's what it happens to be?"

"I think so..." Junior nodded. "Is that what they are from how you're smiling?"

"Not necessarily," Maeve shook her head, her dark hair flying in her face. "You said you wanted to be surprised, so I'll let you be surprised. Then she sniffed. "What is that smell?"

"Does it make you sick?" Junior apologized. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's making me hungry!" She said and sprinted to the kitchen. "You made me dinner?"

"Yeah," Junior nodded, standing behind her chair and kissing her hair. "After Ellie told me what was going on, I thought you could use a real meal."

"Yes, I can," Maeve grinned. "I'm eating for three, you know."


	95. The Long, Hot Weekend

**A/N: This is one of two special chapters dedicated to my friend Vero in honor of her birthday. :)**

"...You beautiful girl, you beautiful girl, you show the world a pretty face, to hide the sadness underneath, you beautiful girl..." Angelica sang as she came down the stairs to breakfast.

"You've been singing that an awful lot lately," Ellie observed as her daughter reached the table. "It's lovely. Did you make it up? Maybe you have a future in song writing!"

"No, no," Angelica shook her head. "Sammy wrote it, actually. I was...with him and I snooped in his song notebook. It's kinda been stuck in my head ever since."

"It's so unfortunate when that happens," Lucifer replied. "But there are certain songs that are just irritating beyond belief to have stuck in your head and sometimes I'll do just that with particular damned souls." He grinned. "It's quite fun, actually."

"What songs?" Valerie questioned. "Ones like 'It's a small world _after all!"_

"Yes, damn it, that one!" Lucifer cried. "Stop singing it!"

Valerie chuckled and so did Ellie behind her husband's back before Valerie apologized. "Sorry, Daddy."

"I don't think you are," Lucifer told her and then turned back to Angelica. "You're going to stop by the club again today, aren't you? Roxie says you haven't come by for a breather in over a week!"

"Well, that's not my fault!" Angelica cried. "I have lots to do!"

"I'm sure you do, but it's all right to delegate!" Lucifer pointed out. "I know you have people to help you. If you don't take a break, you're going to work yourself to death."

"I know," Angelica nodded. "And I plan to take a break soon, but right now, I just can't!"

"Why not?" Ellie wanted to know. "If there's anything we can help you with, please tell us. And that's a lovely dress you're wearing," she complimented as Angelica grinned. "Shades of purple always look good on you."

"Thanks," Angelica returned. "It's nice for someone to notice."

"She's avoiding something," Valerie told them. "Or some _one._ Someone at the club." Then she scoffed. "Seriously? He's who you're avoiding? Actually, I don't know why I'm upset about this. Avoidance is a good change of pace for you."

"What?" Ellie asked.

"She's taken to Sammy," Valerie's lip curled. "Playing right into Grandpa's hands."

"Being with the person your grandfather suggests for you isn't always a bad thing," Lucifer said to everyone's surprise. "It's how I met your mother. I mean, I still have many issues with my father, but...sometimes he can hit the mark."

"He's okay," Angelica shrugged and then asked for eggs. "Better than a dead guy, anyway."

* * *

As night fell, Angelica decided to take her family's advice and call to inform her team that was helping her with the opening for a new botanical garden that she wanted to take the night off and that things were being left in their capable hands.

"Oh, thank goodness you finally said something," her assistant, Sherry, told her. "We've been trying to think of ways to tell you to take a breather. Good for you. I hope you have a good night."

"Thanks, Sherry," Angelica told her. "I appreciate it." After she ended that call and took a deep breath to try and calm herself down cause she was still a bit pumped up from work, her cell phone beeped, but she didn't check the message until she reached a stoplight and when she saw who it was from, she groaned. _Him!_

 **Come by the club** , it urged. **I have something I want to talk to you about.**

Knowing it was the dumbest thing she could do, but just a little curious in spite of herself, she did just that. He was sweeping up by the bar and grinned as she came in. "You're here because of my text, aren't you? I wasn't sure you were gonna answer it, since you've been avoiding me."

"Yeah, well, most people would take that as a hint, but obviously that's not your style," Angelica told him. "Go figure. Now, what do you have to say to me?"

"What's the rush?" Sammy asked.

"I'm working!" She snapped. "I wasn't evening planning to answer except to tell you to just lay off, but I know that doesn't work, so I made time in my schedule to come and talk to you."

Sammy chuckled and came up behind her, putting his arms around her waist and nuzzling her neck as she breathed in sharply. "I know what that's code for," he said. "You're horny and you want me bad. You just don't want to think about it. Why else would you be avoiding me?"

Angelica whimpered. "I...I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "Why don't you go to Hell?" But she didn't move his hands.

"I can help you with your troubles," he continued, his lips against her ear. "I have a proposition that I think would do you a _world_ of good!"

"I don't want to hear it!" Angelica hissed. "I don't need any help. Especially not from you!"

He clicked his tongue. "Oh, come now," he said. "It would be rude not to at least hear what I have to say. You don't want to be rude, do you?"

"I would ask you the same question," Angelica spat, trying not to make any noises in her throat as she felt him rub against her. "But obviously you don't _care_ about being rude. Would you just say what you want to say so I can leave?" She then nervously squished the skirt of her dress in her hands. "Go on, spit it out!"

"My parents are gonna be gone this weekened," he told her. "Dad has a concert a few hours away and Mom wants to go with him, but I wanted to stay home. I think if you joined me, we could have a couple of days of fun. What do you think?"

The second he said this, a vision of the two of them running around naked through Leslie and Sam's house filled Angelica's mind, rendering her silent.

Sammy chuckled. "Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?"

"Why does that matter?" Angelica got out, gasping as she felt his hand move down to her bottom.

"Can I take that as a 'Yes' about coming to stay with me at my parents' house while they're gone?" Sammy questioned.

"Thanks for thinking of me, but no," Angelica told him and finally stepped out of the circle of his arms. "I think I've heard enough. I'm gonna go now. Bye!" She then sprinted out of the club before he could get another word out, but he was unperturbed.

"She'll be there," he told himself with a grin and went back to sweeping. "She'll be there."

* * *

He was right, of course. She was going. She just didn't want to say it in front of him and see the smug grin on his stupid, handsome face.

That decided, the next order of business was the lie she'd have to come up with to explain her two-day absence to her family. Sure, it would be easy to tell them that she was shacking up with someone for the weekend. It wasn't like it would shock them. But that was more trouble than it was worth, especially where Valerie was concerned. So there was no doubt that she was coming up with a lie. It was easier that way. She could tell them that she and Sammy had to work on something for one of her projects. Like he was coming up with a jingle for it or something. That would work. They wouldn't question that.

Not knowing precisely when she would show up, that Friday night, Sammy left the club early and headed home to make everything perfect for when she came. He cleaned the house from top to bottom and even got out one of his cookbooks to look for things to make for her. Then he showered and dressed in his neatest clothes, trying his best to tame his wild hair, sprinting down the stairs when he heard the doorbell ring. When he opened the door, Angelica gasped.

"You...you look so...Oh, my gosh!" She got out as she stepped inside.

"I thought you would like it if I dressed up," he told her. "Glad you approve."

"I was actually expecting you to answer the door naked or in your underwear just to see the look on my face, but this is even better," she told him with a smile. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome," he told her and began undoing his pants as her eyes widened. "But if you wanted me to answer the door in my underwear, go back out on the step and I'll be happy to oblige."

"I'm sure you would," Angelica told him. "But I promise that's not necessary."

"Where's your bag?" He asked. "I'll put it in my room."

Angelica blushed. "I didn't actually bring one. I just stuffed some socks and underwear into my purse, thinking that if I actually _needed_ to wear clothes, I could just borrow some of yours, but if that's too presumptous of me, I can always go and _get_ some clothes." She turned and gripped the doorknob, but he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away.

"Nope, that's not allowed," he told her and crashed his mouth against hers. "Once you've crossed the threshold, you can't go out again until the weekend is over."

"Be careful when you put me down," Angelica told him. "You don't want to break the wine I brought."

"You...you actually want to drink around me?" Sammy asked as Angelica pulled the bottle out. "I'm amazed."

"Well, I don't want to be too predictable," Angelica grinned as she put the bottle down and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her deeply. "I missed you."

She smiled and ruffled his hair. "I missed you more," she whispered back.

He chuckled and slapped her bottom. "All right," he told her. "Time to get undressed."

Angelica scoffed and put her hands on her hips. "I _knew_ you'd want to get right down to business. You know, a _gentleman_ would offer me dinner, or at least a drink first."

"I didn't say we were getting down to business yet," Sammy corrected. "It's just that the house rules are that we do everything in our underwear for the next two days, except for when we're _not_ wearing them for reasons I hope I don't have to explain." He paused and gave her a wink. "I assume you got new underwear and that it's in your purse right now."

"Well, you're half right," Angelica grinned. "I _did_ buy new underwear...but I'm wearing them." She quickly stripped down to reveal a tiny, _tiny_ pair of red lace panties and matching bra, grinning at his staring. "So...I assume you like them?" She got out.

"What?" He asked. He was already imagining her without them. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you liked my new panties," she told him. "But I guess I already have my answer." She then began deftly undoing the buttons on his shirt. "Now you get undressed too!" She urged. "You're way behind!"

"Yes, ma'am!" He grinned and quickly undressed, standing in front of her in just a pair of black silk boxers before coming up behind her and kissing her neck. "You like?" He whispered.

"Oh, yes," Angelica nodded and reached behind her to run her hands over his bare chest. "Very much!" She she cleared her throat and asked, "So...what are we having for dinner?"

"I was thinking Italian," he said. "That's what's in the recipe books I grabbed. I haven't made anything though because a. I thought it would be fun for us to make dinner together and b. I wasn't sure how you felt about meat: if you liked it, or you cringed at the thought of eating one of your grandpa's creatures."

"Oh, no, I eat meat," Angelica assured him. "And I _love_ Italian. It would go so perfectly with the wine I brought. Not the best my dad has, but I got away with some of the second best. I hope that's good enough."

"Yeah, since I usually only drink beer, I'm sure it's great!" He said. "How much of the cooking process do you want to take part in?"

"I can actually do more than you would think," Angelica told him. "Dad cooks too, you know. Mostly breakfast. And I work on stuff with our chef sometimes. It gets high marks."

"Well, good," Sammy smiled, his blue eyes full of light. "You can pick what we have then."

"Are you sure?" Angelica asked. "Why don't you pick dinner? I already brought a chocolate mousse recipe for dessert."

"All right," Sammy nodded. "I'll pick dinner then."

* * *

They ended up working together to make a chicken and broccoli Alfredo, and even though she'd already told him that she knew her way around a kitchen, he was still a bit surprised to see the perfectly made up Angelica, who he was sure had spent the day at a salon or spa or something getting herself all fancy, know her way around the kitchen, cooking pasta and chopping up broccoli as he worked on the meat and the sauce.

"You know, I think we work well together," he remarked later as they sat next to each other at the kitchen table and ate. "This really turned out good, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Angelica grinned and ran her foot up his leg before taking her next mouthful. "I do."

After they finished eating and the dishes were cleaned and put away, Angelica asked, "Do you want to do dessert now, or do you want to wait and digest a bit?"

"Oh, I'm sure that by the time it gets made, I'll have completely digested," Sammy told her. "Now, are you sure you don't want any help?"

She shook her head and gave him a quick kiss. "You're very sweet to offer, but I think I can handle it. You go watch TV or something and I'll tell you when it's ready."

"All right," he said, grabbing her and kissing her soundly. "Whatever you want."

He watched TV until she came in clutching a bowl full of mousse, cleared her throat, and when he was looking up at her, putting her finger in the bow, then sticking it in her mouth and licking the mousse off as Sammy watched her, open-mouthed. "It's good," she smiled. "I did it all right." She then smeared some on her collarbone and neck. "Look, how clumsy of me," she said. "I seem to be making a terrible mess," she strode over to him, bent down, and looked him in the eye. "Wanna help me get cleaned up?"

"Yes," he nodded and pulled her onto his lap. "Yes, I do." He kissed her soundly and she leaned her head back so he could slowly lick the mousse off her collarbone and then pulled her to sit up again so he could get at her neck and smear some on the bit of her breasts that wasn't covered by her bra, which was then removed as he sucked gently on her nipples and slipped his hand in her panties to give her a good rub.

"I hope you weren't actually hoping we'd only sit around and eat the mousse," he whispered. "Cause it seems we both have other plans for it."

"Oh, no," she said, smearing some on the side of his mouth and licking it off. "That was my plan for it all along."

"Why are we just sitting here?" Sammy asked. "Wouldn't it be more comfortable to do this in the bedroom?"

"Yes, but can you move?" Angelica questioned.

"Not well," he said and squirmed. "But I can a little."

She then got off him, zapped off both of their underwear, and grabbed the bowl. "Race you tothe bedroom," she told him.

"Not fair!" He cried, even as she giggled and ran away and he moved awkwardly after her. "I told you I can't walk very well!"

Needless to say, she was grinning from the bed when he finally reached her. "I win!" She crowed.

"You cheated," he told her. "You're evil!"

"You can put the mousse on me first," she said and offered him the bowl. "It's really good, I promise!"

"Damn right I'm gonna put it on you first," he told her, then hoisted himself into bed as she lay back and shut her eyes, giggling as the cold mousse touched her skin. There weren't many places he left uncovered and when he reached her inner thighs...oh, damn! Getting _that_ mousse licked off her was almost better then when he pleasured her with his tongue not long after. And it didn't help that his hands were cupping her bottom all the while either.

When he finally sat up and proclaimed he was full, her body was warm and heavy...and wet with his saliva. But she didn't care about that. All she cared about was that she felt _good!_

When it was Sammy's turn, she wasn't as generous with the mousse coverage, at least not all at once. She covered several spots on his body with small patches of mousse, licking it off in one place before moving onto the next one and repeating the action, following each set of licks with a kiss. When she did this, his breathing picked up. It especially drove him nuts when she licked it off his lips, using both the front and back of her tongue, and then even put some in the little crevice where his lip and his chin met.

By this point, he was gripping her wrists pretty hard and his breathing was heavy. "You want me to cover some lower places too?" She asked, giving him a good rub.

"No...I'm good," he said. But she licked his nipples with her tongue in slow circles before he finally let out a growl and flipped her over so that she was no longer leaning over him and he was on top.

"Too much for you?" She giggled. "Cause we can stop if you want."

"Oh, no," he told her and buried himself inside her over and over again. "I'm just getting started."

* * *

When Sammy woke up the next morning, the first thing he heard was Angelica absently singing some familiar words beside him.

"How do you know the words to that song?" He asked, pushing some of her dark hair out of her eyes. "Where did you see them?"

"I peeked in your notebook," she admitted. "I'm sorry. Your mom thought it would be a good idea cause it would help me better understand how you feel about me." She paused. "But I'm sorry if what I did intrudes on your privacy."

"No, it's fine," he told her as she began blushing again. "I mean, since it _is_ about you, you're entitled to see it." He paused. "What do you think? I hope you're not embarrassed by it because that's not what I was intending when I wrote it." He ran his fingers through her hair and waited with bated breath for her response.

"I...I don't really know what to say," she admitted. "I mean, it's sweet, but it's weird, too."

"Why is it weird?" He asked.

"Because...it doesn't seem like the person you're talking about is _me_ ," Angelica explained, putting her arms around him and resting her head on his chest. "The person you see when you look at me...I see someone else completely. Someone who doesn't deserve to hear all the complimentary things you put in that song. Someone who's just a boring, straitlaced fussbudget. I don't know why you put up with me." She sighed. "You probably have no idea what I'm talking about, so never mind. Forget I said anything."

"No, I won't do that," he told her firmly. "And if it makes you feel better, you should know I didn't always feel that way about you, remember? I _did_ truly despise you at first. I _did_ think you were a boring, straitlaced fussbudget. And really snobby too. It felt like you were only helping people to make yourself look good, not because you truly wanted to help, and that really annoyed me."

Angelica sighed. "Well, you're not completely wrong. You know that little bookstore down on Fifth and Railroad that they were gonna tear down? The one that had been family owned for over a century?"

"The one you wanted to save?" Sammy asked. "So glad that worked out."

"Well, I can't take all of the credit," Angelica scoffed. "When I strong-armed the guys who ran the demolition, they got fired, which, as Valerie pointed out, was selfish. I didn't care what happened to the guys and their families. Just saving my bookstore. She told me that if I really wanted to save the place, I'd have to outsmart the boss. And since I'm no good at that, she did it for me."

"Really?" Sammy chuckled. "What did she do?"

"I'm not totally sure, but she did it behind my back so that when I came in for a conference with the head of the company, and brought brownies besides, the first thing I saw was him running out of the room in terror. Next thing you know, he quit his job, gave his entire salary to his workers, broke up with his mistress, and went to become a monk." Angelica shrugged. "I almost don't wanna ask what would have made him that frightened. And of course Valerie's not saying a word." Angelica shuddered a little. "She must have freaked him out."

"Yeah," Sammy nodded and kissed her fingers. "I guess. Anyway, may I continue what I was saying before you told me that somewhat frightening story?"

"Sure," Angelica nodded and squeezed his hand. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Go on."

"So I truly despised you at first," he continued. "I would lie awake at night thinking about what it would feel like to wrap my hands around your neck and squeeze."

"I'd be offended but I thought that about you too, so..." Angelica blurted out without meaning to.

"But then my thoughts changed," he confessed. "I began to think less about killing you and more about kissing you. My lips on your neck just like this..." She giggled as he began kissing her neck. "And how you would feel when I did it. If it woud make you happy." He paused. " _Does_ it make you happy?"

"Oh, yeah," Angelica assured him. "Do it more, please."

"There were more places on you that I thought about," he told her after nuzzling her neck a bit more. "More places I wanted to touch you so bad. That I wanted to caress you: your breasts-" he paused to run his fingers over them and then gently sucked on her nipple until she gasped. "-Your breasts and between your legs-" he rubbed her a little harder than usual, which left her gasping loudly. "-Until you begged for mercy. Until you were finally mine."

"I-I won't!" Angelica cried. "I won't beg for mercy! Do your worst! Make me scream!"

"Okay," he told her. "Whatever you want." And he entered her over and over again forcefully enough that the bed made an alarming noise, which made them decide once she'd climaxed that they'd better rest for a while.

"You wanna eat now?" He questioned.

"Would we have to leave this bed to do it?" Angelica questioned. "Cause I don't want to leave this bed."

"Nope, we can stay in it," Sammy assured her and zapped up a breakfast tray full of all kinds of stuff. "Have what you want. There's more where that came from."

Since Angelica truly meant it when she said she didn't want to leave the bed, they didn't. They basically just had sex on and off until Angelica finally glimpsed out the window and noticed that the sun was going down. "Holy crap!" She cried. "We've been doing this all day!"

"I know," Sammy grinned, taking her face in his hands. "I'm very impressed. "You have a lot of stamina."

"Surprised?" Angelica grinned, and then winced as she moved and her body made loud cracking noises. "I think I'm a bit stiff. I need a soak." She paused. "Will you be okay without me for a bit?"

"Sure," Sammy nodded. "I'll make dinner while you soak."

"What are you making?" Angelica smiled.

"Not telling you," he grinned back. "It's a surprise."

* * *

But by the time she got out of the bath and put on the first clothes of his she could find along with one of his bathrobes, their dinner was not a surprise much longer. He was making something with bacon in it.

She went to the kitchen and asked, "Can I help?"

"Thanks, but you go ahead and sit," he told her and then brought her a glass of wine before looking her over. "You know," he said appreciately, "You look better in my clothes than I do."

She chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure you're making that up."

"I'm not," he promised her. "I'm serious. Now, how big of a burger do you want? I'm doing bacon cheeseburgers. I hope that's okay."

"It's fine," Angelica told him. "I like bacon cheeseburgers. And I'll have one that's the same size as yours. I'm very hungry!"

"That doesn't surprise me," he remarked. Then he paused. "And I'm so stupid for not asking before, but...you probably need a blood bag, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah," Angelica nodded. "Good thing you remembered. "Cause I probably would have forgotten. I'm surprised I didn't nibble on you yesterday."

"Well, I wouldn't mind if you did," he told her. "Something to think about for later."

"Yeah," Angelica nodded, her breath picking up as he plunked some blood down in front of her and then went back to cooking the cheese burgers. "I guess." She drank some blood and then they ate dinner and once the burgers were gone, Angelica asked, "What do we do now?"

"Wanna watch a movie?" Sammy suggeted.

"Sure," Angelica nodded. "You pick."

They ended up doing a _Godzilla_ movie marathon and fell asleep next to each other on the sofa, too tired to even make it to bed.

* * *

The next morning, Sammy woke up as gravity brought him onto his side on the sofa, since Angelica was no longer leaning against him. "Angie?" He called. "Babe? Where are you?"

"Kitchen!" Angelica called. "I hope you don't mind French toast!"

"Oh, I _love_ French toast," he told her. "Are you making a lot? Cause I think I could have at least three pieces."

"I've made three so far," Angelica replied and flipped the bread into the custard. "Making six shouldn't be a problem."

Sammy then noticed the nicely set table with the vase of flowers in the middle. "You made things pretty," he remarked. "I love it."

"I hoped you would," she said and put the next finished pieces of French toast tast on a plate. "I thought it would brighten the room up." She took the plate of French toast to the table while Sammy got the powdered sugar and the syrup.

"Nice to see you're still obeying the house rules," he grinned. "Very nice."

"Same to you," she smiled. "When are your parents getting back? Do you want me out of here before then?"

"Oh, come on," he scoffed. "They won't care if they come home and find me with you." He paused. "I mean, if they knew some of the stuff you did to me yesterday, they'd probably care, but I'm not gonna tell 'em."

"Right, because nothing we do goes beyond us for now," she nodded. "That's the rule." She held out the syrup to him. "Want this?"

"Sure," he reached for it. "Why not?"

As they ate, Angelica asked, "To bed after this?"

"We could," he nodded. "But we don't have to. We can do something else if you want." He paused. "Like just go down town and walk around. Or see a movie, or..." He paused. "Oh, wait. You didn't bring clothes."

"That's okay," she said and zapped some on. "Getting them isn't difficult."

* * *

They ended up spending the rest of the day at an amusement park. Although Angelica wasn't a fan of rollercoasters usually, with Sammy promising to hold on to her, she got on every single one. They each won the other a prize on the midway, and ate their way around the the park until they were stuffed. Then they drove home and decided they needed to work it off.

As they made out on the sofa, they began pulling at each other's clothes and soon they were in their underwear again, but before they could undress any further, they heard Leslie's voice.

"Sorry," she said, (and boy did she sound it), "We didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, that's okay," Sammy assured her. "We can continue this is my room later. How was the show?"

"I was great," his father told him. "And I even got your mother to come sing with me once."

"Not Rich Girl, I hope," Sammy grinned.

"No, Don't Go Breaking My Heart," Sam told him. "And Sport was a really good traveler as well," he continued as the chocolate lab pounced on Angelica.

"Down, Sport!" Leslie reprimanded and looked at Angelica apologetically. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Angelica replied. She gave Sammy one last kiss before dressing again. "I had a great weekend," she said. "Thanks for inviting me."

"You're welcome," Sammy told her and walked her to the door. "I hope we can do it again sometime."

"Yeah," Angelica nodded. "Me too." They then got outside and began kissing furiously, doing a quickie against the front door before Sammy gave her a spank and sent her on her way.

"Bye!" He waved as she pulled out of the driveway. "See you later!"

As she drove home, she knew she'd probably be peppered with embarrassing questions, but she didn't care. She'd had a good weekend. She'd _let_ herself have a good weekend with a guy who could be quite charming when he wanted to be. She wasn't ready to concede completely to her grandfather, but she was at the point where she wasn't so eager to fight him.


	96. Must Love Dogs

**A/N: This is the second of two special chapters dedicated to my friend Vero in honor of her birthday. :)**

Adrian knocked on the door of the bedroom across from his where Toni had decided to lock herself since her transformation. Her initial euphoria had been the result of a blood high, but after the crash, she'd gone back to being horrified at what she'd become and hidden herself away, only talking to him from behind a closed door.

"What?" Came the weak and weary voice from the other side.

"You know what," he told her. "It's time for your blood. Let me in so I can give it to you."

"No!" Toni told him. "I won't take it."

"Because you wanna die," Adrian finished. "Yeah, we've been over this. But like I told you, I won't let that happen because it's a waste of a lot of good. How can I help you? Tell me, please?"

"There's no way you can help!" Toni cried. "I'm a monster, my sister is a monster, she's gonna give birth to a monster..."

"Well, no wonder you're miserable if you keep thinking that way," he said. "Just a minute. I might have something that will cheer you up. But you have to open the door to see it."

"Fine," Toni sighed. "I don't think it's gonna help, but fine."

A few minutes later, she heard a scratching at the door. "Okay, open it now!" Adrian told her.

So she did, expecting to see Adrian in his wolf form, but instead, saw Adrian holding a small white dog in front of his face and saying in a goofy voice, "Hi, Toni! My name is Rusty and I've heard that you're sad. I'm here to help you not be sad. Please pet me."

Toni couldn't help but smile and took the dog from him, cuddling it as she let Adrian in the room and took the blood from him. "That was...that was good, you know," she said and then took a swig. "I didn't know vampires had dogs."

Adrian shrugged. "He's been in the family a long time. He was a man once and then my aunt, who's a witch, got annoyed with him and turned him into a dog. That's what she does with all her exes who annoy her. She's actually made it into a very lucrative business."

"And no one is concerned when their relatives disappear and they never hear from them again?" Toni questioned.

Adrian shrugged. "I mean, I'm sure she's dealt with stuff like that before, but Aunt Anna's never talked about it. And I'm not always good with people so having a dog was the way I amused myself before I found people that I tolerated enough to become friends with."

"Dogs are wonderful," Toni sighed, smiling as Rusty rolled over to have his belly scratched. "I wanted one when I was growing up, but Mom was allergic so naturally, that didn't work out." She paused. "He really seems to like me."

"Yeah," Adrian grinned and sat down on the other side of the dog. "He really does." Then he asked, "How are you feeling now? Any better?"

"A little bit," Toni nodded. "Things still kind of suck, though."

"What if I took you to a place that wouldn't make you feel so alone?" He asked her. "What if I took you to a place that showed you being a demon could be fun?"

Toni scoffed. "Is there such a place?" She asked.

"Yeah, there is," Adrian nodded. "And after you finish your blood, I'll take you there."

"All right," Toni nodded. "Can I keep the dog in the mean time?"

"Sure," Adrian nodded. "Whatever you need. And he does tricks, by the way. If you wanna be amused." He gave her a smile, which she returned, and then he put his hand on the door. "You want me to stay, or do you want me to leave?"

"You can leave," Toni assured him. "I think I'll be okay."

"That's good to hear," he said. "I'm glad."

* * *

"See? Isn't it great?" Adrian asked as he and Toni strode through the doors of the dimly lit Underground after he gave the guards a nod and a wink. "And aren't you glad you showered and changed before we came? You look much less like death warmed over than you did before."

"Gee, thanks," Toni deadpanned, although she had to admit he wasn't completely wrong. "What a lovely compliment."

"I said you look good now!" Adrian said. "That _is_ a compliment!" Then he took a deep breath. "Never mind. You wanna dance?"

"It depends," Toni replied as he led her onto the dance floor. "Are you any good, or are you just gonna clumsily crush my toes?"

"I have a few moves," he grinned at her and did a surprisingly deft spin and dip maneuver for a guy in jeans that were ripped at the knees and a t-shirt.

"Wow," Toni said as he pulled her up, held her against himself and kissed her soundly. "Wow, I wasn't expecting that."

"That's me," he grinned. "King of the unexpected." She clutched him tight and they swayed back and forth for a while. Then Toni saw something that made her gasp in surprise. "What?" Adrian whispered. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she whispered. "Just that...I saw two people dancing by us that had blue faces! And Inky black eyes! Is that normal?"

"For around here it is," he nodded. "It just means that they're demons, and around here, it's common for them to show that part of themselves instead of just maintaining a human appearance."

"Oh," Toni nodded. "Okay. So they _wouldn't_ think it was weird if they found out I was one too."

"I bet they already know," Adrian assured her. "Don't worry about that."

"Damn," Toni sighed. "I thought I was doing such a good job hiding it." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. "Can we stop and get a drink, please?"

Adrian groaned when he saw that it was his sister who was at the bar, but agreed.

"What's the matter?" Toni asked. "Are you not thirsty?"

"You see that woman at the bar there?" He pointed. "The one pouring drinks? That's my sister. She's very perceptive and she likes to ask lots of nosy questions."

"Oh, I'm sure she's not that bad," Toni told him. "I want to meet her. Are you ashamed of me?"

"No!" Adrian shook his head. "I just don't want you to be overwhelmed by her crazy, that's all."

"Believe me," Toni assured him and pulled him toward the bar. "I have a very high tolerance for crazy. Compared to some of the people I've met, your sister is probably extremely sane."

They sat at bar stools and when Roxie noticed them, Adrian prepared himself for the questions, but to his surprise, Roxie decided to behave herself.

"Hi," she said. "What can I get you and your friend, Adrian? You probably want beer like usual, and..." she turned her gaze to Toni. "You?"

"Oh, I don't know..." she let out a breath. "Rum and Coke?"

"Excellent," Roxie smiled. "Coming right up!" She left and then Toni smiled. "Seems like you were wrong about your sister. She's not nosy at all."

"You're seeing her when she's on good behavior," Adrian told her. "Trust me, she's really not this restrained normally."

She came back with their drinks, gave Adrian a wink, and then left them in peace.

Once their drinks were gone, they danced a little longer and then headed home. Adrian had brought Toni to the club in the hope that it would cheer her up and since she was grinning, that seemed to have done the trick.

Then, in the middle of the drive, she suddenly put her hand on his thigh and squeezed. "How long until we get home?" She asked in a breathy voice, her eyes changing a little. "Can't you go any faster?"

"I can," he nodded as she shook out her hair, the scent of her shampoo filling the car. "And I will."

* * *

They didn't get caught and by the time they were inside the door, they were clutching one another and kissing furiously as they pulled at each other's clothes. The only time they paused was when Toni ripped Adrian's shirt as she was pulling it off and felt the need to offer an apology.

"That's okay," he assured her. "I have lots of others. You can rip off my pants too, if you want."

Soon, their clothes were in a pile in the doorway, and Toni had him by the hand, pulling him to the bedroom. But because they were so eager, they didn't shut the bedroom door all the way and as ran their hands over one another, played with each other's hair, and nibbled on each other's necks, they didn't notice Rusty sneak in through the open door and make his way onto the bed, sitting at the foot and just staring as they went at it. They didn't even notice he was there until Toni cried, "Yes, Adrian, yes!" And then he began barking and she paused.

"How long has he been there?" She asked, wide-eyed. "Does he do that often? Come in here when you're having sex? He didn't last time."

"Well, that's cause last time we made sure to close the door all the way," Adrian sighed. "But if you forget to close the door, it's like he knows!" He rolled off her and sat up. "What do you say you get off the bed now, and go play somewhere else, all right, buddy?"

Hearing this, the dog made a sad whimpering noise and lowered his head in shame.

"Oh, that's so sad!" Toni said and patted the spot on the bed near her. "Come here, Rusty! It's okay!"

"I can't believe you fell for that," Adrian sighed as Rusty licked Toni's face.

"I'm nice to animals," Toni replied. "You should know, you've benefitted from that."

Adrian's mouth opened and closed and as Toni cuddled the dog, he realized he wasn't gonna be having any more sex at that point. So he left the bed and ran to grab his and Toni's clothes (including a new shirt for him). "You wanna go walk him?" He asked.

"Sure," Toni nodded. "Why not?"

So they got dressed and then walked the dog, and when Rusty saw the cocker spaniel a few doors down, he gave a bark and tried to make a run for it, but Adrian tugged on his leash just a little. "Oh, no," he told him. "You stop me from having sex, you don't get to have any either."

"Oh, come on, it's not like he completely deprived us," Toni said.

"Speak for yourself," Adrian huffed. "I didn't get to finish."

"Oh, you poor guy," she said and kissed him. "When we get back home, we'll deal with that. I promise."

"Are you sure?" Adrian asked. "Really?"

"Yeah," Toni nodded. "Duh."

So after encountering some resistance, Adrian finally got Rusty to go home, where he let him run around the yard so he and Toni could have some peace and quiet.

When he returned, he found Toni lounging seductively on the bed, wearing nothing but one of his t-shirts. "Hi," she said and then hopped off the bed. "Stay there. Don't move." She then strode over to him, helping him off with his shirt before grabbing him by the waistband of his jeans and pulling him close before nibbling on his ear. "I hope you're ready for this," she whispered as she unzipped him.

"Oh," he breathed. "I've never been more ready."

"Good," she smiled a wicked smile and then his pants were down and she was deftly squeezing his cock while nibbling on his neck and licking up the blood.

"This is good," he told her, grateful not for the first time that he wasn't in the habit of wearing underwear underneath his pants. "Don't stop. Don't stop!"

And she didn't until his shout of "Oh, yes!" indicated that he was done. He held onto her for several minutes as he tried to catch his breath, then his hand sneaked under the shirt and between her parted legs. "I knew you weren't wearing underwear," he grinned. "I knew it!"

"Of course not," Toni assured him. "That would have just been a waste of time."

"So nice to know you and I speak the same language," Adrian smiled and kissed her again, running his fingers through her hair as her hands cupped his bottom.

"You don't have to go to work tonight, do you?" She asked after they pulled apart.

"That depends," Adrian told her. "Are you planning on showing up at my work?"

"No, not now," she sighed. "I still need time to think."

"Then I'll be staying home," Adrian told her. "I've already told them that it's easier for me to deal with the intruder if I'm away from work, at least at night, anyway."

Toni scoffed. "And they bought that?"

"Well, since you haven't come back, why shouldn't they?" Adrian asked. He then took her hand and led her back to bed. "Is there anything I can do to help you deal with your sister?"

"No," Toni sighed. "I guess I shouldn't judge, considering what I am and all, but...it's kind of hard not to. How much do you know about their relationship? Did he really save her from dying in the fire?"

"Yeah, he did," Adrian assured her. "And his dad was not happy about it. Not too happy about the surprise kid, either."

"Well, I know how he feels," Toni sighed and leaned against Adrian as he put his arms around her. "I just...there's so much going on that I have no idea what to do about anymore." She paused and kissed him, then asked, "What do _you_ think I should do? I bet you're gonna tell me to try and make things up with my sister."

"I think it would be nice," Adrian nodded. "Especially since one of the reasons she's been so intent on taking the pregnancy to term was that she felt she didn't have any family left and this was her chance to start over." He paused. "Do you want to keep having a relationship with your sister?"

"Yeah, I do," Toni nodded.

"Then don't make her choose," Adrian advised. "Don't make her choose between her kid and you cause that's just gonna lead to more trouble than it's worth. Don't think that just because you disapprove of something, people are automatically gonna forget about it to keep you around. Sometimes it's better just to play along and adapt."

"Personal experience?" Toni questioned.

"Yeah," Adrian nodded and went to get his wallet, showing her three pictures: a brunette girl, a blonde girl, and a blond boy. "Lenora, Felicity, and Liam," he told her. "My kids with my first wife. We were originally just gonna have one. Felicity was a bit of a surprise and I accused Helene of trying to pull one over on me because she really wanted a big family and I didn't. Then I left. That was bad. And Lissy...she's really kind of messed up because of it all. I really don't know what she's doing now."

"At least you learned from your mistake," Toni told him. "And you helped me. That's good." She paused. "So when I...when I go see my sister and apologize for how I behaved before, will you come with me? I'm kind of scared to go alone."

"Sure," Adrian nodded. "I'm really pleased that you've decided to change your mind about all this. And I'm sure your sister will be too."

And so will the Dragon, Toni told herself. Cause getting into the house as a friend, with no one being suspicious and no one to stop me...that'll let me do what she wants me to do: Get Lucifer Morningstar.


	97. A Sister And A Solder

"Adrian!" Lucifer said with a grin as the young man made his way into his office. "So glad you could make it."

"Well, you said you wanted to see me immediately," Adrian replied and sat down on the opposite side of Lucifer's desk. "How could I refuse?" He was wearing jeans and a neat black polo shirt, and his hair was neatly combed. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, since you seem to have done a terrific job of keeping our burglar at bay, I was wondering if you'd be willing to put in more hours to cover for Maeve as she grows larger and less able to move as deftly as is necessary for someone in her line of work," Lucifer said. "Would that be a problem?"

"Oh, of course not!" Adrian shook his head. Lucifer was right: Maeve _was_ getting big, and he'd suspected for a while now that Lucifer would be asking him to shoulder some of her work. "I've been waiting for you to ask me this. It's not gonna be a problem."

"Good," Lucifer grinned. "Thank you."

They then stared back and forth at one another as Adrian debated whether or not to speak to him about something he'd heard Toni mention earlier, muttering it to herself as she was getting ready for bed...something about a dragon, that seemed to have to do with why she'd broken into the house in the first place.

"What do you know about dragons?" He asked at last. "Were they like, around before the ark or something and then got extinct?"

"No!" Lucifer shook his head. "Why are you asking me about silly things like dragons? There are no such things."

"Oh," Adrian nodded. The Dragon must be a person then. "Have you ever met anyone called The Dragon? Cause the lady who broke in here says she's working for someone or something called the Dragon."

"The Dragon?" Lucifer frowned. "I've never heard of anything or anyone who goes by that." He paused. "Maybe she's read it in the paper or something. Maybe she's trying to cover up for her crimes by blaming them on someone else. In this case, this Dragon person. It's nice to see her blame it on someone other than me, for once."

"Should I talk to her about it more?" Adrian questioned. "Is it something we should worry about? What do you think?"

"If you feel it's necessary to get more information, go ahead and do it," Lucifer shrugged. "Whatever you think needs to be done, do it."

"All right," Adrian nodded. "I'll try and get more information, but I won't make too big of a deal about it."

"Good," Lucifer nodded. "Be subtle. That's good thinking."

"I will," Adrian assured him and got up. "I promise."

* * *

While Adrian worked, Toni busied herself back at his house, taking care of Rusty while she waited for further instructions from The Dragon. If she had to be honest, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to continue being on the woman's payroll, but refusing might cause her death and that wasn't something she wanted. So she would just play along until everything was done. Hopefully, Adrian would find some way to stop her before Toni had to do something that would hurt her sister _too_ badly.

She was struggling to give Rusty a bath when there was a knock at the door. She let out a shriek as the bubbly dog bounded out of the tub and ran toward the door.

"Shit!" She muttered and ran after him, hoping she would catch him before he got out the door. She grabbed him, stuck him under one arm, and then opened the door, gasping and backing away as she found the Dragon staring back at her.

"Antonia," she said, her eyes narrowed. Then she smiled, but it didn't make Toni feel any better. "How are you? May I come in?"

"That depends," Toni told her as Rusty began barking. "Are you going to hurt me?"

"Well, have you done what I want you to do? Or have you failed again?" The Dragon questioned. "Have you managed to at the very least do reconnaissance on Lucifer Morningstar? Find out his weaknesses? Something? Anything at all? Or have you just been wasting time?"

"I've been doing a little bit of both," Toni told her and let her in to sit on the sofa. "I've gained the affection of one of Mr. Morningstar's security people. I'm sure I can find some reason to ask him to get me into the mansion without arousing suspicion."

"Good!" The Dragon smiled and even reached out to put a hand on her face. "Good for you. I knew you wouldn't mess this up for me. Just don't dawdle for too long. As soon as you can go, I want you in that house! I don't care how you do it. I know you're smart enough to find a way."

"Yeah," Toni nodded. "I have a way in mind right now. I just need to get it set up. Would you like me to tell you what it is?"

"Yes," The Dragon told her, arms crossed. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to ask him to take me to visit my sister," Toni told her. "She lives at his house and it's been a while since we've really connected. I'll have lots of time to look around then."

"Good," The Dragon grinned. "Good luck."

"I won't need it," Toni grinned back. "But thank you."

* * *

A few hours after Adrian left, Lucifer was drinking whiskey in peace at his desk and staring out the window at the nice day when he heard the door open and the sound of someone tiptoing toward his desk chair. He then felt hands gently grip his shoulders from behind as Ellie nibbled his earlobe and whispered in his ear.

"You know," she told him, deftly undoing his tie and then the first few buttons of his shirt so she could get at his neck. "It's very hard for me to nibble on you like I want to when you wear these shirts that button up to kingdom come."

"Well, you can take the whole damn thing off if you want," Lucifer told her, his eyes closed. "I don't care."

"Good," Ellie said, licking his ear and then smiling as he let out a gasp. "I like to hear that." She got his shirt and tie off, and it was while she nibbled on his neck that she reached over to try and grab the folder on his desk that was surely about the big secret he wouldn't give away.

"Shame on you, Eleanor!" He told her as he got his head together enough to snatch the folder out from under her hand and then pull her onto his lap to give her a good, hard spank. Even though she was in red panties, he wasn't gonna let her get away with this. "Using me like that! I need to get you away from here. Put your mind somewhere else. Like in nature with good clean air and things, like your grandfather is so fond of. We should go now before your behavior gets any worse."

"I get to go on a vacation?" Ellie smiled. "Great! Let me go pack my stuff! I'm sure you want to leave now?"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Get some clothes on and pack a bag, and I'll call for the jet. The sooner we leave here, the better."

"Am I really that bad?" Ellie asked, grinning broadly.

"Yes," Lucifer nodded and put his shirt over her shoulders. "Definitely."

"Good," Ellie smiled. "I'm glad to hear it."

After she left, Lucifer called Dexter, asking him to bring another shirt and helping him make reservations at a place he knew of that had sports and horses and hiking and all the stuff he knew Eleanor liked, but didn't have a lot of time to take part in because of all her office work.

"It's so nice that you're taking Miss Ellie on vacation like this," Dexter said. "It's been awhile since the two of you have gone out."

"Yes, well, it's not all out of the goodness of my heart," Lucifer told him after calling for the jet. "It's another chance to keep her away from the files about the All-bay."

"You haven't told her about that?" Dexter asked. "Why don't you do it?"

"Cause I want to surprise her, for crying out loud!" Lucifer said. "Why is that such a difficult concept for her to grasp. Why does she hate surprises?"

"Luckily for you, it's not that long until it's the day of the party," Dexter grinned, taking the folder and the phone and sitting down on the sofa.

"What party?" Ellie asked, coming back into the office and dragging a suitcase behind her. She was wearing boots, tight jeans, and a plaid t-shirt.

"Nothing," Lucifer asked. "Just...nothing. Are you packed?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded and zapped up a suitcase for him. "And you are too. Let's go!"

"You two have fun," Dexter said with a grin. "Everything will be okay here. Don't worry about that."

* * *

"Are you sure it's a good idea to take me here?" Toni asked Adrian one night while Ellie and Lucifer were on their trip. "What if someone sees me, realizes I'm the burglar, and tries to kill me?"

"No one got as good a look at you as I did, so if anyone in this house would kill you, it would be me," Adrian assured her. "And of course, I don't want to do that. Well..." He conceded, "Maeve would probably want to kill you too, but she's pregnant enough that you could probably outrun her. Now would you stop making excuses? Do you want to make peace with your sister or not?"

"I do!" Toni nodded. "But what if she doesn't want to make peace with me?"

"I think she does," Adrian replied, pulling a suddenly, but not surprisingly resistant Toni to one of the mansion's side doors so it would be less likely they would be questioned by a bunch of people and could just get where they wanted to go. "But you'll never know unless you try. Now come on. And if you don't come of your own free will, I will put you over my shoulder and bring you in myself. Do you want that?"

"Yeah," Toni nodded, her eyes twinkling. "I kinda do!" She then made a jump for his arms and he sighed as he carried her inside, through the mansion, and to her sister's room.

"Toni!" Lauren cried, wanting to run to her sister, but not being able to so she just did the best she could. "Toni, what are you doing here?"

"I...I came to talk to you," Toni replied. "And make peace. But if you don't want to, Adrian can just carry me out of the door and out of your life."

"No," Lauren shook her head. "Don't go. I...I think I'm gonna have my baby any day now and it would be nice...it would be nice to have some family there." She paused and gave her a hopeful grin. "Will you be there for me when I have my baby?"

"Sure," Toni said. "Sure, of course I will."

Adrian put her down then and Toni and Lauren hugged the best they could.

"Thanks," Lauren told her. "That means a lot to me."

"No problem," Toni said. "You wanna take me on a tour of your new house?"

"Sure!" Lauren nodded, taking her hand and leading her out with Adrian following behind them. "You can see the house and then you can meet Vincent! I know you weren't happy to see him last time, but he's really not so bad. He's nice when you give him a chance."

With that, Lauren led Toni through the house, pointing out every room. Toni pulled a pad and paper out of her pocket and began writing.

"What are you writing for?" Adrian asked.

"I just want to be able to keep track of everything," Toni said quickly. "You can't expect me to know it all in the space of one tour."

"True," Adrian nodded, even though something was going off in his mind, telling him to be wary. "Good point. Carry on."

So they kept walking and finished the tour in the music room, where Vincent was, as usual, playing on the piano. When he saw Lauren, he smiled and played a quick version of "Fur Elise," and then came to hug her.

"How are you?" He asked and then gave her a kiss. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Lauren grinned. "I'm fine." When they separated, she introduced her sister. "Vincent, you remember my sister, Toni? Toni, this is Vincent. He's my husband."

"Hello," Toni said, gritting her teeth and giving Vincent a smile before taking his hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Vincent told her. "Glad to see you're not so shocked by me this time."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Toni apologized as she remembered her and Vincent's last meeting. "I've never really been good with surprises. But now that I've...I've had time to think about it...I'm glad you and my sister are together. You seem to be making her happy."

"I hope I do," Vincent nodded. They all stood in awkward silence and then, mercifully, Lauren's stomach growled.

"Who wants food?" She asked. "I do!"

"Me too," Toni nodded as they all left the music room. "I wouldn't mind a bite or two."

* * *

When Lauren had guessed that she would have her baby any day now, she wasn't wrong. Two days later, she and Vincent were at the piano and he was teaching her to play when all of a sudden, she let out a terrible shriek.

"What?" Vincent asked, his eyes widening with worry. "Lauren, are you all right?"

"Yeah," Lauren nodded and gritted her teeth. "The baby's coming! I hope your dad doesn't mind that my water broke all over his piano bench!"

"Oh, don't worry about that now," Vincent told her and then hustled her out of the music room, shouting that Lauren was in labor and they needed to go to the hospital.

As Dexter drove them there, Vincent held Lauren's hand and called his parents to tell his mother, who was still at the ranch, that her grandson was coming.

"Well, that's wonderful!" Ellie told him. "I'm so happy for you! I'll try and get home as soon as I can!"

"Oh you don't have to rush," Vincent told her. "You'll get here when you get here."

They reached the hospital and Dexter and Vincent hustled Lauren out and got her signed in and to a room, where she was quickly pumped full of drugs so she wouldn't feel pain. When they'd toured the hospital earlier in her pregnancy, that was something she'd insisted on. She remembered how Ellie had sounded giving birth to Angelica and she knew she didn't want to put herself through that.

Then, all there was left to do was wait. And wait. And wait.

"Please stop pacing," she requested of Vincent. "Sit down, have a drink. Relax!"

"I don't know if I can!" He said and tugged at his hair. "I won't be able to relax until the baby is out of you!"

"Well, it's not relaxing for me, either," Lauren replied. Then she grinned and looked at the screen beside her. "Look at that! I just had another contraction and I don't feel a damn thing! Your mom should really come here next time."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to mention that to her," Vincent grumbled. "Do you want me to call your sister?"

"Toni!" Lauren's eyes widened. "That's right! I was gonna call Toni and tell her to come and see her nephew! Yes, please! Call her!"

Once Adrian and Toni had arrived, Vincent excused himself to get something from the hospital cafeteria, and when he'd returned, the baby was really close to coming.

"You're here just in time," Adrian told him, letting him have the side of the bed opposite Toni, who was holding her sister's left hand.

"Nice to see you're back," Toni remarked, her eyes on the half sandwich Vincent had put down. "Can I have the rest of that?"

"Sure," Vincent shrugged. "Go ahead."

So Toni ate the sandwich, holding it with her free hand, and the baby arrived soon after that, his cries loud and strong. When he was out, Lauren's face changed back to human. It had really been demonic before. She took deep breaths and Vincent leaned over to kiss her soundly before the little baby was handed to her.

"Well, you know what we're calling him," Lauren said, smiling at Vincent.

"Yep," Vincent nodded. "Unless you've changed your mind."

"Nope," Lauren shook her head. "Nicholas Paul Morningstar it is."

"Paul?" Toni raised an eyebrow. "You mean like Dad's name?"

"Yes," Lauren nodded and hugged the baby to her. "Like Dad's name. Exactly."


	98. Just A Few Minutes More

When Ellie told Lucifer that their grandson had arrived and suggested they get home as soon as possible so they could visit little Nicholas Paul, Lucifer declined.

"I'll go home," he said firmly. "But you'll be the one who gives Vincent and Lauren good wishes from both of us. And maybe you could take some house advertisements with you as well."

"House advertisements?" Ellie repeated. "You can't mean you want them to move out!"

"Well, I've never been enthusiastic about Vincent and Lauren's situation, now have I?" Lucifer pointed out. "I think it would be better for all of us if they had their own space."

"Oh seriously?" Ellie scoffed. "If I was pregnant, you wouldn't treat me that way!"

"Well, of course not!" Lucifer told her. "Unless of course, it wasn't my child, but we know that would never be."

"No, of course not, you idiot!" Ellie replied and gave him a whack on the head.

* * *

When they got home, he still wasn't much better, so Ellie left him in Dexter's care. "Get him to be in better spirits about his grandchild," She urged before heading off to visit her new grandson. "Please."

"I'll try," Dexter assured her as they looked at a drinking Lucifer from the office doorway. "But I've never dealt with him being a grandfather before. That's new territory."

"Well, do you want me to help you?" Ellie asked. "Cause I can help you."

"Oh, no," Dexter shook his head. "I can handle it." He grinned and gave her a hug. "You know, you look exhausted. Maybe you should go lie down."

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I just might do that. I have some thinking to do. Good luck and if you need me for anything, don't hesitate to call me, all right?"

"Sure," Dexter nodded. "Of course."

* * *

Despite a long conversation with Dexter, Lucifer's mood hadn't improved much by bedtime, something that was very noticeable to Ellie. "So...you and Dexter didn't have a nice talk?" She asked. "He didn't make you feel better about all this?" She was wearing one of his black button down shirts over a black thong, which was visible to him as she hefted herself up next to him in bed.

"Well, I'll give him credit for trying to cheer me up," Lucifer conceded as he took Ellie in his arms and nibbled on her earlobe. "But I think you'll be able to do better." He paused. "But can you blame me for being shocked? Can you imagine me as a grandfather? At all? It's...it's unthinkable!"

"Well, not entirely," Ellie shook her head. "I could see it."

"Interesting that you picked one of my shirts to wear tonight," Lucifer remarked. "Not that I mind, but you usually go without anything up top or with a bra, don't you? What are you hiding now?" He paused, giving her a wide grin and wiggling his eyebrows. "Do you think you're fat? You know that won't deter me."

Ellie put a hand to her stomach, which had a tiny but obvious bump. She'd been waiting for him to notice it for the longest time, but he hadn't, and he was usually so observant. It was as good of a time as any to point it out now. It might improve his attitude. "I don't think I'm fat, but...I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant, and since you're throwing a fit about your grandson, I figured you wouldn't want to hear about our latest child either."

That made Lucifer freeze, his jaw dropping from shock. "You...you're pregnant again?" He put his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. "How did you find this out? Did Dad visit you again?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "I've just...I've been hungry and sleepier than usual and stuff and...then there's the tummy bump, you know?" She paused. "Are you mad? You don't seem mad."

Lucifer chuckled. "Well of course I'm not mad! What reason would I have to be mad?"

"Well, you're upset about your grandson," Ellie repeated patiently. "How is this any different?"

"Being called 'Father' doesn't make me feel a million years old, does it?" Lucifer told her. "It reminds me that I'm vital and virile, and..." He paused, a sly grin on his lips as he leaned toward Ellie and nuzzled her neck while inhaling the scent of her skin. "What do you say you remove that shirt now?" He asked. "Or are you too tired? Or are you going to tell me that you feel too unattractive? Cause that didn't seem to bother you when you sneaked into my office and tried to seduce me to steal the file."

"Oh, I didn't just try," Ellie scoffed and threw her arms around him. "I totally succeeded."

"You did not," he shook his head and kissed her. "Succeeding would mean that you got the file and you didn't."

"I know you don't like it when I do that," she said. "Or at least you say you don't. But I think part of you does because it means I'm being naughty."

"True," Lucifer conceded. "And I _do_ enjoy it immensely when you're being naughty, Eleanor."

"Well, then let's not wait any longer," she smiled and pulled off the shirt. "I might think you're crazy for liking me still when I look like this, but if you do, who am I to question it?" She paused. "But first, you have to promise me that you won't cause trouble for Lauren and Vincent. I caught them looking at apartment listings today."

"Are they?" Lucifer asked. "Well, that's fine. If they'd like to go, I don't think we should stop them."

"You know the only reason why they would even think about leaving is because they believe you don't want them here," Ellie countered. "And that's not true, is it?"

"Let's talk more about our baby!" Lucifer burst out, desperate to change the subject because he knew that discussing Vincent, Lauren, and their child would just lead to a fight and he didn't want to wreck the present mood. "Do you think it'll be a boy this time?"

"It surprises me that you would want a boy," Ellie said. "Seeing as how all you do is fight with the one you have now." Her eyes narrowed. "You want to try and change the subject again?"

"As a matter of fact, I don't think we should talk anymore," he told her, and kissed her soundly. She tried to at least resist a little, as was her habit when his attempts to seduce her were a way to get out of him doing something wrong. But then his hands began moving to all the right places and doing all the right things as he lowered her back on the mattress, grinning down at her, and she had to admit to herself that at least for the moment, as he slid her thong down her legs and threw it on the floor by the bed and deftly began tasting her, that she couldn't be mad at him anymore.

* * *

Sammy watched Angelica stumble into the Underground and collapse at a table, letting out a cry of frustration as she banged her head repeatedly on the table where she sat.

"I take you had a long day?" He asked and came to hold her head up before she could hit it again. "Don't do that. You'll hurt yourself. Coffee or a drink?"

"All the drinks in the world won't help how I'm feeling right now," Angelica sighed, running her fingers through her dark hair. "Something in my car went screwy and after I sent it off with the lovely guys from the car repair place, I had to take a bus. Can you believe that? A _bus!_ "

"Lots of people ride buses," Sammy told her. "It's a good experience for you. It exposes you to the wide variety of people in this world."

"Oh, no it does not!" Angelica shook her head and scoffed. "It was _awful_. I'll have to describe it to Dad so he can add it to possible punishments in Hell." She shuddered. "I was stuck between a barefoot hobo and a kid who seemed to be entirely made out of snot. And it didn't help when he wiped his nose and smeared it all over my sleeve." She gagged after making the mistake of looking at the sleeve of her purple dress again. Even though the snot was gone, she could still see it if she looked hard enough.

"Well, this is interesting," Sammy remarked and took a seat beside her. "You hate sick people. So...so you're what, spending all those hours working for the hospital _not_ because you actually care about the downtrodden? I _knew_ you were just doing all this good stuff to get brownie points with your grandfather!"

"No, I'm not!" Angelica shook her head. "I _do_ care, in my own way. But no one ever says 'Thank you' and I don't think it's wrong to want a little recognition for a job well done. It's not like I'm asking to have my name put up in a wing or something." She paused. "Can I have my drink now? Please?"

"Sure," Sammy nodded. "And you don't need to give me an order. I know exactly what you need."

But when he came back with it and plunked it down in front of her, she was initially underwhelmed. "What is that?" She asked, looking at the red concoction in front of her. "I don't need more blood today. I already had some."

"It's not blood," he told her with a grin. "It's a Shirley Temple! With a swirly straw! Those are always fun!"

"Don't you ever have a bad day?" She snapped. "I thought you were done laughing at my misery. And a Shirley Temple? Come on, I'm not five!"

"I'm not laughing at your misery," Sammy shrugged. "Can I help it if I'm just naturally an upbeat person? Come on and have a drink. It'll cheer you up." He picked it up and began moving it in front of her eyes. "Drink me, Angelica! I'm so _tasty_! _Do_ it! It'll be good for you."

"I doubt it," Angelica sighed and then took a big swig of the drink, enjoying the way the liquid snaked its way through the twists of the pink straw before it reached her mouth. "Okay," she admitted. "I guess that was fun." She then took out the two cherries and delicately separated them from their stems with her teeth before chewing and swallowing them.

"See?" Sammy grinned after she emptied half the glass. "Don't you feel better now?"

"I don't know," Angelica shrugged. "Maybe a little. It's not even just the bus that's a problem, you know?"

"What else is there?" Sammy questioned and sat down next to her.

"Oh, I bet you don't want to hear," Angelica pulled back. "Just some boring, frustrating crap from my life. Nothing special."

"Go ahead and tell me," Sammy insisted. "I know you won't tell anyone else. I know you'll just keep it inside and let it eat away at you. That's what you do. Don't you think that should change?"

"It should," Angelica sighed. "I know it's unhealthy to just keep it all in, but it's not fair to just dump every problem I have on your shoulders. You don't deserve that."

"Well, I don't think you deserve to shoulder so much yourself, so we're at kind of an impasse, aren't we?" Sammy asked and kissed her cheek.

"How are you so damn perfect?" Angelica asked and went back to her drink. "Everything I need or want you just...you just give! How does that even happen?"

"Maybe someone just wants you to be happy," Sammy shrugged. "I mean, I know I do."

She narrowed her eyes at him and drained the glass, then pushed it back at him. "I would like another please. And this time, can you put something strong it in?"

"Sure," Sammy nodded and grabbed the closest vodka bottle. "No problem."

* * *

If the morning had been tough for Angie, by the end of the day, she was beginning to hate all humanity. Her car fixed, the first thing she did was get in it and drive to Sammy's at lightening speed, not caring at all about the consequences of her actions. When she pulled into the driveway of Sammy's parents' house (she'd texted ahead of time to see where Sammy was) she was overwhelmed by everything: her car breaking down, her nephew keeping her awake at all hours with his horrible crying...and the knowledge there would be more crying coming cause her mom was pregnant too. It was giving her a headache just to think about. She breathed into a bag that she pulled out from under the seat, continuing to do this as she made her way to the front door and knocked.

When he opened the door, she threw the bag aside and launched herself at Sammy without a word, kissing him soundly and pulling at his clothes. He was surprised at first, but that didn't last long. Instead, he just kissed her back.

He held her and closed the door with his foot, then broke the kiss briefly. "Hi," he grinned as he carried her to the living room where he and his parents had been watching TV. "What can I do for you?"

"Sex," she got out in a breathy voice as she slipped her hand down his shorts because she didn't see his parents over his shoulder. "Please."

"Yeah, okay," Sammy replied, his breathing ragged. He'd thought about getting her to stop because he knew his parents were on the couch right behind them and probably staring open-mouthed. And the idea of them witnessing all this would make Angelica embarrassed and more likely to pull away from him like she usually did when mortified, but it was too late now.

"You...you wanna do it on the couch or go to your bedroom?" Angie breathed, her lips going to his neck. "As you can tell, I don't really want to wait, so just set me on the couch, would you? I'm wearing a skirt so all you gotta do is pull it up."

"Well..." Sammy finally began to pull away a little.

"Well, what?" Angie asked, pausing. "Why are you stopping? Didn't you hear how much I need this now? Don't you get that?" Then she heard the cough and her eyes widened as she noticed Sam and Leslie, which made her blush furiously as she moved her hand and buried her face in Sammy's shoulder.

"It's all right, Angelica," Sam assured her. "Everyone has needy moments. So glad you could come over. How are your parents?"

Angie began hyperventilating again as Sammy led her to another sofa and sat her down.

"Are you okay?" Sammy asked. "What's the matter?"

"I just..." She gasped. "I just...I need to breathe! I had a bag, but...I threw it away. Get me a paper bag!"

"Okay, just a minute," Sammy nodded and ran into the kitchen to grab one. When he handed it to her, she began breathing into it and that seemed to calm her down at least a little.

When she'd regained her composure, she gave Leslie and Sam a polite smile, one leg crossed over the other and clothes smoothed over as if the past several minutes hadn't occurred at all. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "Very rude of me to be so demonstrative, I know. It won't happen again. How are the two of you this evening?"

"We're good," Sam told her. "We're just watching this wonderful documentary about sharks on television, but I highly doubt that would interest you."

"Go ahead and go to Sammy's bedroom," Leslie encouraged. "I just washed his sheets and everything!"

"Or you could do it in here," Sam added. "We have a TV in our room and it wouldn't be hard for us to move. We know what it feels like when the old passions overwhelm you and you just can't wait and have to do it right now..."

"Oh, geez," Angelica put her head in her hands. "This couldn't get any worse! I'm so embarrassed!" The fact that she could hear Sammy snickering beside her didn't help her much.

Finally, he took pity on her, picked her up, and carried her to his bedroom, putting her down on the floor and locking the door behind them.

"Okay," he told her and began removing his clothes. "Let's get undressed now."

"I can't!" Angelica shook her head. "Your parents saw me. The mood is dead!"

"Oh, come on," a very naked Sammy remarked as he got closer to her and kissed her earlobe, which made her gasp and reach down to pull at her panties. "You can't mean that. You can't honestly be telling me that a couple sarcastic remarks from my parents would kill everything!"

She felt his hand sneak up her skirt and she swallowed, her breathing picking up again. When she felt him rub her, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"Well, look at you," he grinned. "I knew you wouldn't be able to keep your hands off me for long!"

"You think you know everything, don't you?" Angelica told him as he took her hand and squeezed it.

"When it comes to you, I do," he said. Then he got her in his bed, and when they were both naked, he ran his lips and hands over every inch of her body as he liked to do. He was very thorough because there wasn't a place on her that didn't make him feel something when he touched it, and soon, they were kissing each other wildly as he pushed into her over and over while she laughed, feeling, for the first time in a while, a sense of relief and release.

* * *

Lucifer had thought he was doing Maeve a favor by giving her time off from work until she gave birth and had time to recover, but she didn't take it well, spending most days sitting on the couch with ice cream, crying.

"I feel so useless," she said. "Like one of those big, fat gnome lawn ornaments that sits there and does nothing except be ugly. I can't work or anything. What is the point anymore, really?" She told Junior. "Do something about this, would you? Make it go away!"

"Oh, honey," he told her, and sat down, running his fingers through her hair. "It's a bit late for that. I mean, you're almost at the point where it would be safe to take them out, but since you're having no complications, it's bad idea not to go the full time!"

"No, we shouldn't go the full time!" Maeve cried. "I can't do this! I thought I could, but I'm going to be a horrible mother!"

"No, you aren't," Junior assured her as he kissed her hair and put his arms around her. "You'll be a great mother. There's not just one way to be a parent. Just because what's normally considered the 'best' way to parent is outside your wheelhouse, it doesn't mean you won't be able to do it and have our babies turn out well."

"Do you want me to tell you what we're having?" Maeve asked with a sniffle.

"If it will help," Junior told her and reached out. "May I have some ice cream? I like mint chocolate chip."

"Sure, take it," Maeve held the container out to him. "It'll be good for me. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably just end up being fatter than I already am if you don't have half the carton too."

"You really should give yourself a break," Junior told her and then stuck the full spoon in his mouth. "For carrying twins, you're looking exactly how you're supposed to and much better than some."

"Yes, but you don't understand!" Maeve complained. "I've made a life on being physically fit. On being able to fight and protect at a moment's notice! That was my purpose and my place. And this whole thing," she gestured at her big stomach. "This whole thing has thrown that all off."

"Well, it's obviously time to look at yourself in a new way," Junior told her. "It's hard, I know. It was for me. To think of myself as a parent when I ran away from it for so long. But it's not something that will ruin your life. It will add to it."

"Do you seriously believe that?" Maeve asked. "Or are you just trying to make me feel better?"

"I do believe that," Junior told her firmly. "It took me a while to learn, but it's true."

"How long has it been since you've seen Ellie anyway?" Maeve asked. "I hear she's expecting again."

"Well, isn't that lovely?" Junior grinned. "It's true I haven't talked to her in a while. I should do that. Thanks for reminding me."

"You're welcome," Maeve replied. "All this talk about what a good parent you are and I have to remind you to call your daughter. Let's hope you do better with the other two."

"Girls?" Junior paused and turned as he reached for his phone nearby. "We're having girls?"

"Yeah," Maeve nodded. "I hope that doesn't bother you."

"Why would it bother me?" Junior asked and smiled, kissing Maeve deeply. "I know how to be around girls better than boys. This is good." He paused. "Have you been thinking about names too?"

Maeve averted her eyes. She had, but she was embarrassed to say so because it seemed like such a girly and ridiculous thing. "You say your name first," she said, hoping to gain a few more minutes. "You've been thinking too, I take it."

"Well, not specifically because I didn't know what we were having but...Emma is a name I've always found pretty," Junior told her. "Now, you pick the other name."

Her eyes on her lap, Maeve muttered something that Junior couldn't hear.

"What?" He told her, moving some hair out of her eyes and quickly zapping the ice cream away so it didn't melt. "What did you say?"

"Alexandra, okay?" Maeve shouted. "I like the name Alexandra!"

"You know what?" Junior smiled and kissed her as she threw her arms around his neck and a few tears squeezed out of her eyes. "I do too."


	99. I've Got The Power

"Well, look at you," Lucifer remarked with a slight start when he opened the door to Angelica's bedroom and found her sitting up in bed with a large sundae in her lap and the TV in her room turned to a crime show. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah, I decided to be slothful," Angelica told him after swallowing. "I'm at the point where I'm starting to hate humanity cause they all seem like stupid, ungrateful idiots."

"Well, that's what I told your grandfather at first too, and you know how that went," Lucifer agreed. "Nice to see you're taking a break, whatever the reason for it."

She watched her show a little longer and then spoke to her father again. "Is the greed circle of Hell just full of total morons?" She asked. "It seems like every crime they depict on this show is about people who bump off someone for the insurance money and think _they'll_ be the _one person_ who won't get caught. Yet they always do."

Lucifer scoffed and sat down on the bed next to her. "Well, you can't say greed makes you smart," he told her.

She nodded and zapped up another spoon. "Want some?" She asked. "Or are you too full from breakfast?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "I wouldn't mind having a little." He paused. "Since you're here and all, you wanna go out after you're showered and dressed? We could make a day of it."

"Yeah!" Angelica nodded. "That would be so fun! Let me finish my sundae and the next episode of my show and then we can get to it."

"Well, there's no rush," Lucifer assured her. "Take your time. We have all day."

"Will I get to go with you in your car?" Angelica questioned. She'd never been in his car. Only her mother had. And she wanted to try and have her turn so she could brag about it to Valerie, who would probably have the sourest look on her face after cause she wanted to be the first.

"Sure," Lucifer nodded. "Why not?"

"Good," Angelica grinned. "I won't be long, I promise."

* * *

"Thanks for taking me out for lunch, Daddy," Angelica told Lucifer as she stabbed a large wad of Caesar salad with her fork before popping it into her mouth. "Such a nice thing to do on my day off."

"Well, it's healthier than sitting in your room and stuffing your face full of ice cream," Lucifer remarked. "Not that I would tell you how to be slothful. I'm just glad to see you. I miss you when you work so much!"

"I'm thinking of taking off more than one day," Angelica sighed. "I want to get over this feeling of hating everyone before I go back to working. And is it the art museum or the movie we're going to next?" She then frowned as her father deftly hid his face behind a menu and then peered over it.

"What are you looking at?" Angelica asked. "Why are you being so goofy?"

"Turn and look briefly at that table over there," Lucifer told her. "See the young man in the dark suit?"

"With the Japanese flag on his bag?" Angie tilted her sunglasses down. "Yeah, who is it? One of your associates? Someone you did a favor for?"

"His name is Lee Oshira," Lucifer told her. "And I...I've known his mother for a while."

"Oh?" Angelica raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess: she was human?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "Demon."

"Ah," Angelica nodded. "Okay."

He watched Lee for a few more minutes and then turned back to her. "You know, I might have him come over here," he said.

"Why?" Angelica wanted to know. "Are you two chummy or something? Were you, he, and his mom like a nice little family unit for a while?"

"Well, not exactly, but...I wonder if he's single," Lucifer mused as Angelica groaned. "I mean, you really aren't seeing anyone and you're so pretty that it's really a waste. Why not him?"

"Why him?" Angie countered. "Why so interested in my love life now? Has Valerie been going on and on about Sammy from the club because I don't really like him, so any story she tells you about us having a thing...that's all made up!"

"Is it?" Lucifer asked. He could easily see that she was lying. "Or do you have some affection for an employee and don't want to admit it to me? Maybe Lee showed up at a better time than I thought. I _will_ invite him to visit," he got to his feet. "And you can show him around. Give him your undivided attention. It'll be good for you, darling. And you'll thank me for it later."

"No I won't!" Angelica shouted after him and gritted her teeth as he made his way to Lee's table. If Valerie had blabbed, she would pay for it. She really would.

She fumed until her father and Lee arrived at the table, then she regained her composure as she gave the young man a smile. "Hello," she said. "I'm Angelica."

He smiled back, taking her hand and kissing it. "Oh, I know who you are," he said in a smooth voice. "Your father told me. And when he said you were beautiful, he wasn't lying."

Angelica thanked him and gently pulled her hand away. She didn't like the way he'd slobbered all over it, and although the compliment was nice, it sounded much nicer coming from Sammy. More sincere, anyway. Not like he was just spouting something he told every woman. or guy, or whoever it was he wanted to attract.

They sat in awkward silence until Lucifer gave Angelica a gentle kick under the table and mouthed "Talk to him!"

Angelica frowned and wanted to say nothing, but her good manners wouldn't allow it, so she cleared her throat and turned to Lee. "So...Dad says you and he have known one another for a while?"

"Oh, yes," Lee nodded. "He and my mother were close some time back." He looked around. "The weather here is lovely. Do you like it?"

The subject change was rather abrupt and Angelica was hit by an urge to press the issue, but she chose not to. "Yeah," she went along with it. "I like the warm weather. Do you swim?"

"Oh, yes," Lee nodded. "I'm a very good swimmer. I ski as well."

"Angelica's always wanted to learn how to ski," Lucifer blurted out. "Why don't you show her? Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Yeah," Angelica gritted her teeth. "I've always wanted to learn how to ski." This was a complete lie, of course. Anything that could make her fall to her face in an undignified heap was not appealing to Angelica at all. But she just had to play along a little while longer. Sooner or later, if the pattern held, Lee would be smited by her grandfather and then all her problems would be over and she could go back to dealing with her complicated feelings for Sam Jr. She never thought she would prefer that, but here you go.

After dinner was finished and Angelica made her way to Lee's car, Lucifer set out the last part of his evil scheme. "How long are you going to be in town?" He asked. "Do you have a place to stay, Lee?"

"I've got a hotel room near by here," Lee said. "I'm staying for a while."

"Well, don't be silly!" Lucifer said jovially. "Come and stay at my house. My son has a small child at the moment but I'm sure we can get you a room far enough away from them that it wouldn't bother you."

Lee turned to Angelica. "Would that be all right with you?" He asked, his dark eyes boring into hers. "Because I would love the opportunity to continue to get to know you better."

"Sure," Angelica nodded. His gaze was very disconcerting and she backed away a little. "Sure, come and stay. We have so few new visitors. I'll even give you a tour of the place if you want."

"That would be lovely," Lee told her and ushered her toward his car as Lucifer gave them a wave. "I would like that."

* * *

"I'm gonna kill you!" Angelica hissed at Valerie when she finally got home and had left Lee and her father chatting in the kitchen. "You blabbed about me and Sammy to Dad, didn't you?"

"Well," Valerie locked eyes with her, "If I _did_ mention something to Dad, it was for your own good."

"What are you gonna say next?" Angelica spat. "That I'll thank you for it later, just like Dad did? I really don't like people talking about me and making big decisions about my life behind my back, Valerie!"

"But you understand why we're so concerned, right?" Valerie questioned. "You work too hard! You have no life! That needs to stop!"

"That's not your choice to make!" Angelica spat, her voice rising. "It's mine! And now, thanks to you, I have to play host to this guy that Dad knows. He's from Japan, and Dad invited him to stay here. _I'm_ the one who's stuck showing him around!"

"Oh, calm down," Valerie told her, her voice dismissive. "It won't be so bad. Is he here? Is he cute?"

"He and Dad are in the kitchen if you wanna see him," Angelica told her. "Personally, he creeps me out a little, but you might feel differently."

"Yeah," Valerie nodded. "Maybe I might!" She strode out of her bedroom to the kitchen to see the guy Angelica was making such a fuss about. She reached the kitchen and got a good look at him. He wasn't so bad. Of course, Angelica was making a fuss over nothing. "Hi!" She said, holding out her hand to him. "I'm Angelica's sister, Valerie. Welcome to our home!"

"Well, thank you, Valerie," Lee replied, shaking her hand after taking it in a firm grip. His hand was cold and he squeezed just a little too hard, but that wasn't much of a problem for Valerie. "Would you like to come out to dinner with us? And if you could tell your charming sister that we're leaving, that would be wonderful!"

"Sure I will!" Valerie nodded. "No problem!"

She left to go get Valerie and Lee told Lucifer, "You have such charming daughters. Will your wife be joining us for dinner as well?"

"I don't think so, unfortunately," Lucifer shook his head. "She's expecting and at the stage where certain smells make her ill, so she's decided to eat at home for the time being."

"Oh, what a shame," Lee clicked his tongue. "I do hope I'll get to see her eventually."

"I'm sure you will," Lucifer assured him. "Eleanor loves to meet new people."

They continued to chat until Valerie appeared again, dragging a very resistant Angelica behind her and, Lucifer noticed, wearing a pair of her mother's shoes. "Okay!" She announced. "We're here and ready to leave when you are!"

"I'm ready now," Lee replied. "And if it doesn't bother anyone, I think I'll sit in the back with Angelica."

"Oh, I can't sit with anyone," Angelica told him. "I get car sick and unless you want that lovely suit ruined I think it would better for you to sit alone. Sit up front with Dad. I'm sure the two of you will have lots to talk about."

This made Lucifer frown deeply at her, but things ended up with Lucifer and Lee sitting up front and Angelica and Valerie sitting in the backseat.

"I would have gotten out of sitting next to him at the restaurant if you wanted to do that," Valerie whispered to her. "Cause the the car ride to the restaurant is gonna be much shorter."

Realizing she was right, Angelica sighed and looked out the window. It was going to be a long night, that was for sure.

* * *

Ellie was looking for a pair of shoes that had gone missing when she wandered into her daughter Valerie's room to see if she had taken them. Ellie, Angelica, and Valerie all had similar foot sizes and so they'd frequently borrow each other's shoes. But Valerie, especially, had a tendency to forget to give them back, especially if she liked them.

As Ellie looked for the shoes, her eyes caught a book on the bedside table, one of those really steamy novels with a scantily clad couple on the cover. Intrigued, she stopped looking for the shoes, picked up the book, settled herself on her daughter's bed, and began reading it, not looking up until Valerie cleared her throat.

"Oh, sorry!" She apologized, putting the book down. "I was just reading."

"I see," Valerie replied and picked up the book. "This is a good one. It's set in Europe at a castle or something. And I'm sorry I didn't give your shoes back, but I thought that since you're pregnant, you wouldn't be able to wear them anyway. At least not for a while. Can I keep them?

"Fine," Ellie sighed. "Go ahead."

"You know," Valerie held the book out. "Take this. I have more than one copy. Maybe you and some of your friends can get together and do a book club or something. Cause you don't see a lot of your friends and I think you should."

"You know, you're right," Ellie agreed. "It's been a while since I've seen Vicky and Lenora. And your dad tells me I have to talk to Aunt Selina about a dress. Amy called the other day too, but I haven't called her back yet. This is just perfect!" She paused. "Do you know where the other copies of the book are?"

"Yes, but I don't have four of them," Valerie replied. "Do you think you could zap up a couple more?"

"Sure," Ellie nodded and gave her daughter a hug. "You find them while I call everyone. Thanks for the idea, sweetie. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome!" Valerie told her. "No problem!"

* * *

Ellie got on the phone with Amy and it didn't take long for her to be as enthusiastic about book club as Ellie was.

"That sounds great!" Amy remarked. "And the book sounds great too. Do we need to make a trip to the bookstore, or..."

"Oh, no!" Ellie told her. "I can just zap people their copies. No use buying them when I have enough."

"Who else is coming?" Amy asked. "Is it just you and me?"

"No," Ellie said. "Would you object to Aunt Selina, Lenora, and Victoria coming too?"

"No," Amy replied. "Of course not! How long should we take to read? A week?"

"Well, I don't know how book clubs work," Ellie told her. "Is it going over a few chapters each time we meet? That would be a lot easier than trying to go through a whole book."

"So..three chapters in a week?" Amy asked. "I could do that. Oh, and do you mind if I bring Lisa with me to book club? Elijah kind of...took issue with our last sitter and fired her behind my back for no reason. It's not the first time he's done it and it's getting hard to find new ones."

"It's all right," Ellie assured her. "Go ahead and bring her."

"Thanks," Amy said. She sounded awfully relieved. "You're a lifesaver."

* * *

"Kai will you please stop eating the stuff on the cheese and meat plate?" Ellie asked and took the tray away from him. "Those are for my book club that's in an hour! I can't not feed them anything!"

"What did you have to take it away for?" Kai asked irritably. "I can always replace what I take! And I know Vicky's coming too. She'll understand if the tray's half empty!"

"Whose idea was it to put you in charge of food preparation?" Ellie asked. "I thought the chef was well aware of your eating habits and knew not to tempt you."

"Well, I kind of put _myself_ in charge of food preparation," Kai grinned slyly. "No one even needed to ask me!"

"How about you go help Adrian do whatever it is that he's doing?" Ellie suggested. "I promise I'll let you know when Victoria gets here so you don't miss the chance to say 'Hello'."

"Fine," Kai huffed and snatched a couple more crackers and cheese for the road. "But you beter not be lying about letting me see Vicky."

"Of course I'm not," Ellie told him. "Once Victoria gets here, you'll be the first to know."

And, true to her word, the second Kai's wife stepped through the door, she went to get him and they had a joyful reunion. "You need to visit me more often," he told her after they finished a kiss. "I miss you!"

"Well, with this book club, I should be here at least once a week," Victoria told him. "But maybe we should try and date more on the weekends."

"Yeah, we should," Kai agreed. "I would like that."

Victoria then walked with him over to the snack table. "I can't take any credit for this," he told her. "No one lets me near food anymore. I have to be sneaky about it."

"Well," Victoria chuckled. "If you eat more than you work, I can't blame them for that." She paused. "I take it you're not staying to talk about the book?"

"No, I just wanted to see you," Kai told her with a grin. "I'm gonna go help Adrian now."

"You do that," Victoria told him. "And tell him 'Hi' from me."

"I sure will," Kai swore, giving her a salute as Ellie asked him to go answer the door for the next guest, which was her aunt, who'd come with Amy and Lisa, her red headed daughter, who was a toddler now.

"You want to come look at some of my dresses after this?" Selina asked and sat down with the book. "Lucifer told me you wanted to look over some of my old dresses for some reason. The ones from the 1860s."

"Yes, except I don't know about that now," Ellie sighed. "I'm pregnant. How is one of those dresses gonna fit me?"

Selina scoffed. "You think women weren't pregnant at that point? The last major thing I did as a human in 1864 was give birth. The dress will fit even though you're pregnant, I promise."

"But the corset-" Ellie protested.

"It'll still be fine," Selina cut her off. "I saved everything. I'm sure I still have my pregnancy corset somewhere. Just trust me, would you? And I promise I won't lace it tight enough to make you pass out. I never have, never will. It really ticked my mother off." This last sentence was followed by a very smug grin.

"Okay," Ellie conceded at last. "I trust you. Do you have anything in purple?"

"Good," Selina nodded. "You should. And yes I do."

Lenora arrived soon after that, and just as they were about to start their chat, Lucifer strode in.

"Well, look at all these lovely ladies," he said with a grin. "You have fun now. I'm gonna go do something else so I don't get in your way."

"Are you going to take Lee with you?" Ellie asked. "I know you want Angelica to host him and all, but since he's _your_ guest, can't you give her a break once in a while? She doesn't seem very happy with the whole thing."

"I offered to take him out today, but he said he wanted to stay in and explore the house," Lucifer explained. "And I don't know _where_ Angelica went. To work or out or what. But I haven't seen her."

"All right, I suppose that since you've done your best, you can be on your way then," Ellie sighed.

"Thank you," Lucifer told her and kissed her. "You have a good time now. Oh, and make note of some of the stuff in those books. It might lead to some _excellent_ role-playing opportunities."

He left then and Lenora got out, "You know, it's nice he's so cool with all of this. And role-play is fun. James used to be a pirate, you know. So sometimes he and I do that. Pirate might not be Lucifer's thing, though."

"I don't know how effective role-play would be, though," Ellie shrugged. "I mean, you start with 'Devil' and honestly, where do you go from there? What's better?"

They all all sat around in silence, not knowing how to respond.

"Okay," Selina said at last. "What does everyone think about the book? I liked it. A lot."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Lucifer had said, Lee was wandering around the house. As promised, Angelica had given him a tour, but that was not enough. He needed to be on his own and really have the time to look in every drawer, on every shelf, in every room, for the evidence he needed to answer the question that had been nagging at him for years: Was Lucifer his father, or not? He debated this question because his mother was not the type to show long-standing interest in any one man, but at the same time, the two of them _had_ spent a lot of time in Lucifer's company when he'd been growing up.

And when he'd asked his mother for a hint about the identity of the man who'd fathered him, his mother had just tersely responded, "You know him well," and then demanded he'd dropped the subject. "You know him" was not particularly helpful. Cause while he'd not been close with _all_ his mother's lovers, he'd connected with just enough that the question was not easy to answer with _only_ that information.

He wandered from room to room and when he passed the nursery, a little girl with red hair, taking advantage of the sleeping babysitter demon in a rocking chair, sneaked to the door on her little legs and poked her head out, waving at him. "Hi," she said. "What's your name?"

Lee glanced at the child suspiciously, then decided that talking to her wouldn't be bad. "I'm Lee," he said. "Who are you?"

"Lisa," she got out. She then shook his hand and began touching his fingers, his jacket, and since he was leaning over, his face and his hair (which surprisingly, Lee endured without much protest). Then she saw a wound on his hand. "You got a boo-boo," she observed.

"It's nothing," he said, wondering why in the world he was talking to this child as if she was an adult who could help him. "I have to go now."

"Let me make it better," she insisted and took his hand, kissing the wound gently. "There," she said. "All better."

Then a snort from the rocking chair startled her. She turned her head and then turned back to face him, wide-eyed. "I gotta go," she said and retreated back into the room. "Bye-bye!"

"Bye," he said, giving the cute little girl a nice smile. She didn't seem frightened by him at all. That was unusual. And why he'd let her put her little fingers all over him was a mystery too. He never really let others touch him unless they had permission, which he did not often give because he hated being touched. He gave a chuckle, shook his head, and headed on his journey. If he remembered correctly, he was near Angelica's room too. Maybe he could go in there and see what she was about. Find some way to relate to her so she wasn't so hostile toward him. Cause even though she tried to hide it, her distaste for him was obvious. And he wasn't used to that from a woman. He definitely wasn't gonna let it continue if he could help it.

* * *

Angelica was furious about her father ordering her to pay attention to Lee and abandon Sammy. Of course that was her own fault because no one in her family had any _idea_ about Sammy or the fact that he'd seen her naked more times than she could count...but it wouldn't help to tell anyone now. Well, okay, Valerie had some idea of her and Sammy. That's how she'd gotten into this whole mess in the first place!

And telling Sammy...she could tell him. She didn't want to tell him that her father's childish behavior meant she couldn't see him anymore, or at least not for much longer than either of them liked. She didn't want him to be mad at her about something that wasn't her fault.

She was grateful for work. Spending time at the hospital was a great distraction. Thinking of others stopped her from thinking of her own problems, which is how it should be.

At lunch in the hospital cafeteria, she was told by her friend Janet that there was a rumor going around they were going to name the wing after her.

"Oh, they don't have to do that," she said, blushing a little. "I hope it's not true!"

"Why not?" Janet grinned, her green eyes bright. "It'll be good for you. You deserve it!"

"Thanks," Angelica smiled.

* * *

She was so excited at the prospect that she ran to the bar afterward to tell Sammy.

"That's so wonderful to hear!" He said and hugged her. "We should celebrate with another sexy weekend! At my place, with no parental interruptions." He grinned widely, then his face changed as Angelica shook her head. "Sorry, I can't," she said and pulled away. "My dad has a friend visiting that he insists I play host for. And they might be here for a long time. I...I don't know when I'll be able to see you next."

"Well, okay," Sammy nodded, hugging her, his hands sliding down to cup her bottom as he whispered in her ear. "Do you have to leave now? Do you want to go to our secret spot and have a little fun to tide you over until we can see each other again?"

"Yes," Angelica said immediately. "I would like that very much. As long as it won't get you in trouble, that is. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble."

"Don't worry," Sammy assured her, picking her up and carrying her off to the storage room with the bed in it. "It won't be any trouble at all."

After getting in bed and putting on protection as he usually did, they stripped down and buried themselves under the bed covers, going at it until Roxie made her way to the room and found them while Sammy was in mid thrust and Angelica was giggling madly.

"When you're done, there are some dishes that need doing," she said.

"Oh," Sammy paused. "All right. We'll be done soon."

"Yeah, take pity on us," Angelica told her. "Dad's making me host some creepy guy that he knows and I think he might be trying to set me up with him too, so this'll be our last time for a while." When she spoke, her voice was steady and she didn't feel embarrassed at all. "I hope that's all right."

"Fine," Roxie said. "Just don't take too much longer, all right?"

"Okay," Sammy promised.

But of course the goodbye once they were both dressed was longer than the sex had been. This surprised Sammy, who always assumed that Angelica let her duty to others be above everything else, him especially. But every time she kissed him and started to pull away, she'd just kiss him again.

"Sorry," she apologized at last, taking a breath and stepping away. "It's just...I don't wanna go!"

"You don't have to apologize," he said. "I don't want you to go either!"

Angelica growled. "Oh, Dad is so stupid! I wish...I wish I could just..." A grin suddenly curved her lips. "Never mind," she said and kissed him one last time. "I'm gonna go now."

He didn't know whether to be offended or happy that she was suddenly more cheerful, but Sammy watched her go and then went back to sweeping, trying not to think about how long he'd have to wait until he'd have her in his arms again.

* * *

It turned out, much to his surprise, that the wait wasn't nearly as long as he thought it would be. He got up to get a drink of water at two in the morning and when he returned, he found the lights on in his bedroom and Angelica in her underwear in his bed, grinning at him as her tongue slid across her bottom lip.

"Hi," she greeted him in a breathy voice. "Surprised to see me?"

He paused, his hand gripping the doorknob as she got off the bed and removed her bra and panties. If this was a dream, he didn't want to wreck it by moving or breathing or saying anything. But if it was real...what was he doing still standing here? He decided to take a chance on the fact that it might be real and joined Angelica in bed. "Are you real?" He asked. "Or are you just a figment of my horny imagination?"

"No, I'm real," she said, reaching out to pinch him. "See?"

"Yeah," he rubbed his arm. "Thanks. But what are you doing here? I thought your dad had you otherwise occupied."

"He's trying to, yes," Angelica replied and ran her hands over his bare chest. "But I'm taking a page out of his playbook. I'm rebelling. I'm not gonna play hostess for a guy I think is creepy."

"But...but won't that get you in trouble?" Sammy got out.

"Maybe, but I don't care," Angelica replied and kissed him deeply. "Don't tell me you're gonna kick me out."

"Well, no, but I just...I don't want you doing something now that you might regret in the morning," he told her. "I mean, it doesn't seem like you've been drinking, but..."

"I haven't!" Angelica said. "Now will you just kiss me already? Please?"

He paused, still unsure. Then, he scoffed and shrugged. "What the hell," he said and kissed her back, his hands roaming over every inch of her warm, naked body before he kissed her inner thighs, got his boxers off, and buried himself deep inside her.

* * *

The next morning, Angelica was relieved to wake up to silence. No knocking on doors. No shouted demands that she come out and go home. Just silence, except for some gentle snoring from Sammy beside her.

She snuggled against him, a smile on her lips as she gently kissed his forehead. "Good morning," she whispered. "I'm still here."

"Good," Sammy smiled, his eyes opening. "I like that."

They began kissing again, but quickly broke apart when the knock on the door that she'd dreaded sounded, followed by her father's demand that she come out and go home with him.

"You should probably go," Sammy told her. "He sounds pretty angry."

"Oh, I can reason with him," Angelica sighed and dressed, putting one of Sammy's shirts on over her underwear before joining her father in the hallway. His eyes were red and he was breathing hard. "Yes?" She asked. "May I help you?"

"You know you're not supposed to be here," he told her. "I told you it wasn't allowed."

Angelica put her hands on her hips. "And you think that because you tell me I'm not allowed to do something, even if that something is the rare thing that brings me any happiness and relaxation in the world, that I'm just gonna listen to you?"

"Yes!" Lucifer nodded, his flashing red again. "It's what you do! You're my father's good soldier. You're not supposed to be going against _me_ like this. Him, sure. I'd love to see that. But me...no! Now you get some clothes on and get in the car. You're gonna be spending some time with Lee today to make up for abandoning him. And you're going to apologize for being so rude!"

"I'll spend time with him," Angelica replied and zapped on a dress. "But I won't apologize cause I didn't do anything wrong. This whole thing with him was _not_ my idea. You forced me into it. I don't like him! I think he's creepy!"

"That's what your mother thought about me at first and look where we are now!" Lucifer told her. "Just give him a chance!"

"No, thanks," Angelica replied.

"Everything okay out here?" Sammy asked.

"We're all right," Angelica told him and then kissed him again right in front of her father. "Bye, Sammy. Thanks for tiding me over until I see you again. I really enjoyed myself."

"It's...it's no problem," Sammy replied, unable to take his eyes off her face. She had this sneaky, bold, sly look that he'd never seen from her before, and frankly, it was a real turn on. "It was my pleasure. Bye."

"Bye," Angelica said one last time before striding away purposefully as a frustrated Lucifer followed behind her because this obviously had not gone at all the way he wanted it to.


	100. Dad Pays A Visit

"You and Angelica are fighting now?" Ellie asked Lucifer in surprise as they sat in his office after a breakfast that was an unmitigated disaster. "Didn't see that coming. Never thought it would happen."

As soon as the two of them had arrived home, Angie had locked herself in her room, refusing to come out, saying that if they wanted to know why, they should ask her dad because it was all his fault.

"I didn't think it would happen either," Lucifer shrugged. "Frankly, it's a bit of a shock."

"I have to say, I'm a but surprised myself," Ellie agreed. "What happened? What did you do?"

"What do you mean, 'What did _I_ do'?" Lucifer questioned. "What makes you think this is all my fault, Eleanor?"

"Because Angelica doesn't start fights like you do," Ellie said. "Now, tell me what happened so we can get to the bottom of this."

"Well, as you know, I told her to host Lee while he was here, but she defied me," Lucifer told her. "Can you believe that? She went off and had sex with Sammy from the bar!"

"I told you that making her play host to a guy she clearly doesn't like was not going to end well," Ellie reminded him. "But did you listen? _No!_ " She paused. "But I guess it's good that she's finding her voice now. That's very refreshing to see her standing up for what she wants."

"Yes, I agree," Lucifer spoke through his teeth. "But like I said before, it hurts that she's going against _me!"_

"You seem surprised," Ellie told him. "Rebellion against parental authority is part of growing up. You of all people should remember that."

That simple comment made Lucifer feel as if he'd been slapped. "What's that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Ellie replied. "She's the child, you're the parent, you told her to do something she didn't want to do, and now she's rebelling and making up her own mind. I don't know how I can be any clearer."

Lucifer rose, his legs shaking for a bit before they gave out and he landed heavily in his chair. "No," he shook his head. "No, this isn't right."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Ellie asked, standing up and preparing to go get Dexter. Lucifer looked pale. He was sweating, swaying in his chair, and if he'd been standing, Ellie was pretty sure he would have fainted. She didn't wait another minute, but ran as fast as she could to get Dexter, who, thankfully, was unoccupied.

"Crisis with the boss?" He said dryly when he saw the look on Ellie's face. "Take me to him."

So they ran back to Lucifer's office and both took chairs on the side of the desk opposite him. "All right," Dexter began. "What's going on? What's bothering you?"

"It's not fair!" Lucifer burst out. "I'm the fun one! I'm the one that people are supposed to like because I let people do what they want! I tell them it's all right! They aren't supposed to pull away from _me_!"

"So this is still about what happened this morning," Dexter nodded, cleared his throat, and pushed up his glasses that were falling down his nose. "All right. So you and Angelica are having a difference of opinion. How do you feel about that?"

"I _told_ you!" Lucifer cried in frustration. "I don't like it and I want it to stop!"

"But why don't you like it?" Dexter asked. "Why do you want it to stop? I would think you'd be proud that she's finding her own way."

"Not when she's spitting on everything I say and telling me I'm wrong!" Lucifer replied. "That really hurts!"

"It makes you feel rejected and awful, doesn't it?" Dexter asked.

"Yeah," Lucifer sighed. "And Angelica and I were so much closer just yesterday. I thought that wouldn't ever change. I mean, there was the possibility, what with my father angling for her allegiance and everything, but I was pretty sure before that things wouldn't change. Clearly, I was wrong."

"What makes you say that?" Dexter continued. "What makes you think that Angelica doesn't like you anymore?"

"Well, the young man I found her with was the one Dad chose for her, wasn't it?" Lucifer spat, his lip curling. "I don't see how her allegiances can be any clearer!"

"Just because you found her with the guy your dad is supposedly pushing her toward does not mean she hates you," Dexter said patiently. "This is not an either/or situation. I'm sure her motivation to be with him was more because she likes him than because she wanted to give you the middle finger."

"Although with you forcing her to host Lee, some of her motivation to be with Sammy _might_ have been to give you the middle finger," Ellie added. "She seems pretty pissed about that." She paused. "But I think I get it: It was hard enough for you to deal with the grandfather stuff, and now Angelica's suddenly rebelling and you don't know how to handle it...it's a lot to deal with."

"Yeah," Lucifer nodded. "It is!"

"How did you see Angelica before she rebelled?" Dexter asked.

"Like another Eleanor," Lucifer got out. "I mean, we got along well, and she took care of me and spent time with me. Not as much as the two of you, but that was an established part of our relationship. I said something, she went along with it. I advised her to do something and she followed it."

"That's a lot to put on her shoulders, thinking of her as another me," Ellie said. "Don't do that to her."

"It's hard not to," Lucifer sighed. "Do you realize how similar the two of you are when she's in her right mind?"

"Yes, I do, but you know as well as I do that I have that rebellious side too," Ellie reminded him. "It shouldn't be a shock that Angelica's got it, coming from two people who weren't particularly shy about defying their parents to get what they wanted."

"Stop making that comparison!" Lucifer instructed. "How we acted against our parents and how Angelica is acting out against me are totally different!"

"How?" Ellie questioned. "How is it different?"

Lucifer made a face and squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. "It just is, that's why! Now, we're going to stop talking about this and you're going to tell Angelica that she has to leave her room."

"No, we're not," Dexter shook his head. "We're gonna let her stay in there as long as she needs to, cause it's the only way she'll even consider liking you again. Don't push her."

"But then how's she gonna understand the terrible position she's put me in?" Lucifer cried. "That she's made me feel like...like my...like my father?" He sighed, his breath coming out in shallow gasps as he kept his eyes on his lap. "Well, that's a real blast of cold water, isn't it?"

"And since you don't want to behave toward your children the same way your father behaved toward you, now that you've recognized it, you can change!" Ellie enthused. "This is good! I'm proud of you!"

"But what if, when I let her do her own thing, she leaves and never comes back?" Lucifer questioned, finally looking up. "What if she rejects me? I don't think I could bear that."

"And what if she doesn't?" Ellie asked. "Then, if you take the leap and give it a chance, you'll not only have the knowledge that you supported your daughter's desire to go her own way, but you'll also have her gratitude, which is doubly good. Isn't that a good enough reason to make things up with her?"

"I suppose," Lucifer replied and got up. "But if...but if something goes wrong, you two will have to answer for it."

"Nothing will go wrong!" Dexter cried as he and Ellie hustled after him. "This is the right thing to do, we promise!"

* * *

When Angelica heard the knock on the door, she turned off the TV, and pulled the covers over her head, hoping that if she was quiet, her father would go away. She had no doubt was him, coming in to demand she go along with his crazy plans, when she'd already made it very clear that wasn't gonna happen. The knocking was a nice touch though. She'd expected him to just barge in.

"Angelica, sweetheart?" Her mother called. "Can we come in? Your father has something he'd like to say to you!"

"I thought that's what this was about!" Angelica sat up and yelled. "Nice trick, Dad! Using Mom as bait to get what you want!"

"He's not using me as bait!" Ellie called back. "Dexter and I are with him, we've had a talk, and if you'll let us, we'll all come in there and talk with you too."

"Fine," Angelica sighed. "Whatever, come in."

So they did, and when Lucifer opened his mouth to speak, Angelica quickly waved her hand and silenced him, saying, "The first words out of your mouth better be 'I'm sorry', otherwise I refuse to go any further with this discussion."

She then gave him his voice back and his mouth opened and closed several times, his eyes wide. She'd just used magic on him. What in the world was wrong with her? Finally, he managed to get out, "I'm...I'm sorry. But the only reason I tried to do what I did with Lee was because I was worried about you being by yourself. How could I have known about Sammy if you didn't say anything?"

"Even if I _had_ told you about Sammy, it wouldn't have mattered since you don't want me with him anyway cause you think he's not good enough for me, even though he makes me happy!" Angelica snapped. "You said that! Those words came out of your mouth!"

"He works at the bar!" Lucifer cried. "What happened to asking me to set you up with millionaires?"

"Well, I've changed my mind, _obviously_!" Angelica cried. "And in case you haven't noticed, all those other guys _died!"_

"You're letting your grandfather get to you!" Lucifer told her. "You're letting him run your life by being with Sammy! That's my point! That's why you need to be with someone else!"

"I was against the relationship with him at first for that very reason," Angelica admitted. "But now I'm starting to think that maybe I was being a bit stubborn. He's not so bad. He's very good in lots of ways. Maybe Grandpa hit the mark with this one, like he did with you and Mom. Can't you just let me find out? Please?"

Lucifer was silent until Ellie gave him a nudge. "Well...well, all right," he sighed. "I suppose...I suppose if Sammy makes you happy, then...I should accept that and wish you good luck."

Angelica pursed her lips. "There's a distinct lack of sincerity coming from you," she said. "I know you're only saying this because someone told you to, but because I don't like fighting, I'm going to let it go and hold you to it, all right?"

"Okay," Lucifer nodded. "All right. Will you leave your room now?"

"Yes," Angelica sighed. "I will. Let's go."

* * *

When they arrived in the living room, they found a stack of the day's mail waiting for them on the coffee table.

"Bill, bill, magazine, bill," Lucifer muttered as he tossed it aside. Then he handed an envelope to Angelica. "This seems to be from your hospital. Is everything all right? We're not getting this because you had some sort of accident, are we?"

"No," Angelica shook her head. "This could be for something really good. My friend Janet who works with me told me it might be coming." She opened it and grinned. Sure enough, it was an invitation to the opening of the new pediatric wing that was being named for her.

"Oh, my gosh!" Ellie cried and gave her a hug. "They're naming the wing after you? That's fantastic!"

"Not to mention well-deserved," Lucifer replied. "You spent so many hours there, it's good you didn't come away with nothing. Good for you for demanding what's yours!"

"I didn't ask for this," Angelica told him. "They decided it all on their own."

"Well, we'll come," Ellie told her. "We're so proud of you!"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "Of course we will! Do you need money to buy yourself a few things?"

"No, thanks," Angelica shook her head. "I can handle it." She looked at her mother. "I'm so glad you wanna come, but if it'll be too much for you because of the..." she waved her hand in the direction of her mother's belly, "because of that, then you can stay home. I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Ellie waved her concern away. "This isn't the first time I've done things while pregnant. I promise I'll be fine."

"Good," Angelica smiled. "Great! Okay. I'm gonna go to the mall now, but I promise I'll be home in time for dinner."

"Don't feel you have to rush!" Ellie called after her. "If you want to stop and get something at the food court and then go back to shopping, just let us know!"

"Okay," Angelica promised, grabbing her light blue raincoat because it looked like the clouds were darkening out the window. "I will, I promise!"

* * *

"You know, even God rested on the seventh day."

Angelica paused writing her list of prospective projects and looked up to see Doctor Smith grinning down at her, his blue eyes bright and his longish salt and pepper hair wild from catching whatever sleep he could on the hospital couches during his long hours on call. He'd been the main doctor who'd worked with her on the plans for the new wing and they'd become very close since he'd begun his work there the same time she had. "I do plan to rest," she told him. "This is a much shorter list of projects than I originally had planned. I just feel so useless when I'm sitting around doing nothing, you know? But again, a good long rest is on the horizon for me."

"Well, that's good to hear," he said, sitting down next to her and putting his arm around her. "I don't like seeing you wear yourself out. Have you eaten today?"

"Not yet," Angelica said. "But I was just about to."

"I'm taking a break," he said. "You wanna come with me?"

"Sure," Angelica nodded as they made their way to the hospital cafeteria. "Thanks." She paused. "And speaking of people who need rest, what about you? I heard you saved, what? Too many people to count, and that's just this week! Rose the nurse said that two of them were near death! She and the others were positive they would die, but they pulled through because of you! How in the world do you do it?"

He shrugged. "I'm just...lucky I guess. And I use the skills I have. They save lives."

"Yeah," Angelica nodded. "It really sounds like they do."

They got their coffee and sandwiches and then Dr. Smith asked, "Did you get the letter about the ceremony to dedicate the new wing?"

"Yes!" Angelica smiled and took a drink. "It's so nice for them to name it after me. I was surprised when I saw it."

"Well, you shouldn't be after all the hours you put in," Dr. Smith told her. "I was so proud of your efforts and the great things that came from them. We couldn't have accomplished this without your help!"

Angelica blushed. "Thanks. I know you're not supposed to get into charity work to get the thanks and the applause, but it's nice to know I'm appreciated. It's very touching."

When they finished their food, Dr. Smith got up and came back with two large chocolate chip cookies, putting one down in front of her.

"Thanks," Angelica smiled. "You know, it was so sweet of you to invite me to lunch. I'll pay you back for the cookies."

"If you insist," he told her. "Although it's truly my pleasure."

Angelica looked in her purse and groaned. "I must've left my wallet at the bar where I eat breakfast," she said. "But that's not a problem. I know someone who could bring it to me really quick."

"All right," he nodded. "But if that doesn't work out, don't worry about it."

But as promised, Sammy soon arrived with her wallet in hand. "Sorry, Angie," he apologized. "I would have brought this to you the second I found it, but Roxie was working me unusually hard today and it slipped my mind."

"Oh, it's totally fine," Angelica, assured him and took it, tucking it in her purse. "Thanks for bringing it now."

Sammy then turned to go but paused when Dr. Smith spoke next. "Just a minute, young man," he got out. "Angelica, would you mind introducing me to your friend?"

"Oh, sure," Angelica nodded. "Sorry about that. Dr. Smith, this is Sammy Salvatore. Sammy, this is Dr. Smith. He's the head of pediatrics here and helped me a lot with the work on the new wing."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Sammy grinned and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, young man," Dr. Smith grinned back and shook his hand in return. "Angelica's talked so much about you during our hours together that I feel I know you already, even though this is the first time I've ever set eyes on you."

Sammy heard this and raised an eyebrow. "You've talked about me, Angie?"

"Well, mainly about how much you annoyed me up until now, so don't get too cocky," Angelica replied.

"It wasn't that bad," Dr. Smith assured him with a chuckle. "There was a compliment or two thrown in if I recall." He then looked them over with a contented sigh and a grin on his face. "You two make a charming couple. Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Well, no," Angelica told him. "Not that the thought hasn't crossed our minds to go that way, but things are a bit difficult now with my dad and all...I mean, he said that he was gonna stop giving me trouble about it, but I don't know, and-"

"Is he really giving you trouble?" Dr. Smith interrupted, looking a bit put out as lightening flashed and thunder boomed. "Tell me, will he be coming to the ceremony? If so, I'd be happy to have a word with him. I've been meaning to talk to Samael in any case. This is the perfect opportunity." Before a shocked Angelica could do more than shove the cookie money on the table, his beeper beeped and he politely excused himself, saying that he would see her later.

"And it was lovely to meet you too, Samuel," he told Sammy. "I hope we see each other again."

Then he left and Sammy took Angelica's hand, unable to ignore the funny look she had on her face. "What?" He asked. "Angelica, what's the matter?"

"I think...this is gonna sound crazy, but...I think Dr. Smith might be my grandfather," she got out."

"What?" Sammy chuckled. "When you say your grandfather, you mean..."

"The one I've never actually met!" Angelica elaborated. "Do I need to say more than that?"

"So you're telling me that guy...is _God_?" Sammy chuckled. "Get out of town! What in the world would make you think that?"

"He called my Dad Samael!" Angelica cried. "And according to Mom and Dexter, that was Dad's name before everything went wrong! I couldn't have told him that. He wouldn't just pull it out of nowhere in reference to my dad unless...unless it's my grandpa! And plus, did you see how happy he was to see us together? He's happy that he set us up and it's working out! And _no one_ could have as high a success rate of saving patients from potentially fatal stuff as he does unless..." She paused, running her fingers through her hair as she began to hyperventilate and improvised by dumping out the contents of her black and white leather Coach purse and breathing into it. "Oh, geez. If that's Grandpa, and he's gonna be at the ceremony, and Dad's gonna be at the ceremony...well, my moment of triumph just got a whole lot less triumphant, I think."

"Don't worry," Sammy assured her and kissed her hair. "I'll be there too. It'll be all right."

* * *

"Mom!" Angelica whispered to Ellie as she poked her head in what was mostly considered her mother's library.

"What?" Ellie whispered back. "Why are you whispering?"

"Are you alone?" Angelica asked. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "No one here but me." She put her book down as Angelica let out a breath and came into the room to sit down.

"Thank goodness," she said. "I was afraid Dad was in here."

"No," Ellie shook her head. "He hardly ever comes in here. What don't you want him to know?"

"Well, it's...he'll have to know eventually," Angelica said. "But I don't want him to know until we've found the way to tell him that will lead to the least violent reaction."

"Oh?" Ellie took her daughter's hand. "What is it? What's happened? Whatever it is, we can fix it!"

"Well, you know that doctor that I told you about that I worked with at the hospital?" Angelica asked. "Dr. Smith? The one I said was kind of like a grandfather to me?"

"Yes," Ellie grinned. "He sounds nice. I hope he's gonna be at the ceremony so your dad and I can meet him."

"Oh, Dad's...Dad's met him already," Angelica said. "And he...well, he's not exactly a fan."

Ellie leaned forward, her eyes widened with shock. "Are you...are you seriously telling me that the guy you see as a grandfather is actually...your _grandfather_? Are you sure?"

"Well, I thought it was just a figment of my mind until...he called Dad by his old name after I inadvertently blurted that Dad was getting in the way of my relationship with Sammy. Now he _really_ wants to meet him. Should we tell Dad that so he's ready? Or should we just take him and let him find out for himself? _OR_ we could tell Dad not to come at all. Would that work?"

"No, it might make him suspicious, and then we'd just have to tell him anyway, so we might as well lay out all the cards on the table," Ellie sighed. "I should have seen this coming." She paused. "I'm so sorry this is gonna happen to you on a day that should be celebrating all the good you've done. I hope your dad won't be childish enough to ruin it for you, but we have to be prepared for anything."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Angelica nodded and snuggled against her mother. "I'm glad I told you about this. It makes me feel much better."

"Good," Ellie told her. "I'm glad."

Lucifer grinned as he adjusted his tie in the mirror and heard a wolf whistle from the door. It was the night of Angelica's triumph and they had to leave soon. "I do look good," he said as Ellie came and put her arms around him. "Don't I, Eleanor?"

"Yeah," Ellie agreed, resting her head on Lucifer's chest. "You do!" She began kissing his fingers and then reached up on tiptoes to to ruffle his hair. "I'm so glad you've decided to come to Angelica's celebration with me. She's glad too!"

"Well, and why wouldn't I?" Lucifer asked. "I want her to know that I'm proud of her. I don't want her to have a bad taste in her mouth when it comes to me. I want to be a better Dad than my dad."

Ellie let out a weak chuckle and stepped back. "About that...Angelica believes that the main doctor she worked with on this project is gonna be there, and that he's your father in human form."

"According to Angelica, he called you Samael," Ellie said. "And she didn't tell him that name or anything. So it has to be your dad."

"I wonder why it took her so long to figure it out?" Lucifer scoffed. "It shouldn't be hard to spot the judgiest dick in the universe."

"If it's gonna upset you to be around Him, you don't have to come," Ellie said. "I just wanted to warn you ahead of time so that when you saw your father, you wouldn't be shocked and throw a fit and ruin Angelica's big night."

"Of course I'm not gonna ruin it," Lucifer assured her. "if anyone's gonna ruin it, it will be Dad with his attempts to goad me and make me look bad in front of my children. But I'll show him who's better! I'll show him!"

"Yeah," Ellie sighed as Lucifer left the closet. "That's the proper spirit."

* * *

The presentation itself went off without a hitch and Angelica had finally begun to relax when Sammy grabbed her arm. "Don't look now," he whispered in her ear. "Doctor Smith is heading this way. Do you think your parents are ready? Or should I distract him until you all are in a proper frame of mind to talk to him?"

"Oh, no!" Angelica shook her head. "Might as well get the chat over with now." She went and got her parents, and was finally able to introduce them to Doctor Smith...but only after they all went into a far off corner away from the rest of the party so they could have privacy. And it was obvious why that was needed because with Lucifer present, the good doctor dropped the pretense completely.

"Nice to see you, Samael," he said with a grin. "Glad you could make it. Angelica said you would. You and Eleanor have raised a wonderful young woman here!"

"Yes," Lucifer nodded. "And I'm sure you have thoughts about the other two as well."

"I do," Dr. Smith nodded. "That Vincent's really come along way. Valerie's made progress, but I'm still a little concerned."

"Yeah," Ellie agreed. "I worry about her sometimes too!"

"But you have to let people live their own lives," Lucifer remarked. "Especially when they aren't children, whether you like it or not."

A few minutes later, they were met by a panicked Valerie, who had a smirking Dexter on her heels.

"What?" Lucifer asked. "What's the matter?"

"She can't swear!" Dexter got out and then burst into laughter.

"Yeah, I can't!" Valerie agreed. "Every time I say bullshirt, it comes out as bullshirt! I don't know what the fudge is going on here, but I don't like it!" She stomped her foot as Angelica chuckled too. "Oh, son of a bench!"

She stomped off and Doctor Smith gave a smug grin. "Let that be a lesson to her to broaden her vocabulary." He paused. "And speaking of letting people who aren't children live their own lives, Samael, what is this I hear about you interfering with Angelica and Samuel?"

"I'm not interfering!" Lucifer spat. "I'm saving her from _you_! And how much you'll disappoint her with your nonsense until she's just as disenchanted with you as I am! And what would you do if she suddenly decided to follow me? Would you throw her into Hell, too?"

"Lucifer..." Ellie whispered, squeezing his arm. "Careful! Remember who we're here for..."

"We're here for Angelica!" Lucifer said. "Don't worry, Eleanor! I remember just fine. I don't need you to remind me." He pulled out of Ellie's grip.

"You know, you almost had me fooled," he said as he got up in Doctor Smith's face. "I was inclined to be kind to you for a while because you put Eleanor in my path. You gave me a chance to have a family and a new start. And I appreciate that. But what I _do not_ appreciate is you turning them against me!"

"And what makes you think I'm doing that?" Dr. Smith answered, unruffled in the face of Lucifer's anger. "Please tell me. Don't be shy."

"I know that you're forcing Angelica to overwork herself just to be seen as good in your eyes!" Lucifer spat. "I know you're dangling all sorts of rewards in front of her for what she's accomplishing. Gonna bring her back home? Introduce her to the family? Put her where I used to be? Is that your plan? Not only to turn her against me, but to take her away from me as well?" By now, his voice was shaking. "You better not, you bastard!" He then gave Doctor Smith a good hard punch and that sent the older man tumbling to the ground and as a shocked Angelica and Ellie reached down to help him, he refused their hands.

"It's all right," he said, his eyes still locked on Lucifer as he got to his feet. "Thank you for your help but I can get up just fine on my own."

"Are you going to speak to me?" Lucifer asked, his eyes narrowed. "Or will you remain silent like the coward that you are?"

"It's not my place to tell you how wrong you are, Samael," Dr. Smith told him. "You want reassurance about your daughter, the best person to hear it from is her, not me." He turned to Angelica. "Tell him all of the things you told me."

"You mean, back when I thought you were only hypothetically talking about heaven?" Angelica laughed nervously. "Wow, those conversations make a lot more sense now." She locked eyes with Lucifer and said, "Daddy, Grandpa is not luring me away at all. He could invite me up to Heaven if he wanted to. He could give me the place that you had and make it possible for me to meet all the aunts and the uncles...but I wouldn't want to, because you wouldn't be there. And even...even though we don't always agree...even though you do things that make me frustrated, and even insecure, I still...I can't imagine not having you in my life. Any place where you aren't is _not_ a place I wanna be."

"What?" Lucifer asked, feeling completely dumbstruck. "Really?"

"Yeah," Angelica nodded. " _Really_. I hope you remember that from now on."

"You have a wonderful daughter on your hands," Dr. Smith told him. "She loves you and I know you love her. Learn from my mistakes and don't drive her away. Think about that, Samael. It was nice to see you. And Angelica, congratulations again. I'm very proud of you."

"Thanks," Angelica told him. "Thanks very much."

He then moved aside so some other people could talk to her, and by the time they were gone, so was he.


	101. Knocking Down Walls

"...You know," Ellie said at the next book club meeting. "I take back what I said before about not having any sexual fantasies about Lucifer."

"You have some?" Selina asked dryly. "I remember quite a few myself. List off some and I'll tell you whether he does them well or not."

"Oh, come on, Aunt Selina!" Ellie told her, feeling a little disgusted. "Don't ruin this for me!" She lowered her voice. "I kinda...I kinda want him to be an angel! With the wings and the light and all! And maybe with his hair all mussed up. He looks good that way." She paused. "But I've...but I've never told him that cause I don't think he'll react well to it."

"Can't tell you anything about that one," Selina shook her head, pulling a highlighter from her purse and covering a few lines with pink. "Never went there."

Just as Ellie opened her mouth to respond, Lisa's cries rang out, followed by some loud banging.

"What in the world is going on?" Amy asked as they headed to the nursery room and she took her sobbing daughter from the attending demon and tried to calm her down.

"Lucifer!" Ellie yelled. "What's with all that noise? Cut it out!"

Just then, Lucifer appeared, a grin on his face, and ruffled Lisa's hair. "Sorry, ladies," he said. "Didn't mean to scare the child or disturb you. Just doing some...renovating."

" _What_ renovating?" Ellie asked, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, striding up to him so they were chest to chest. She wanted to see what was going on, but he wouldn't get out of the way. "You never told me about any renovating! What's going on?"

"I don't have to tell you anything," he smiled. "I'm invoking favor number...what is it? Three? Which means I can do what I want and I don't have to consult with you. But it's for a good cause. It's a surprise you'll like, Eleanor."

"You know, if that's true...if this surprise has to do with what's in the folder, would you just tell me what it is already?" Ellie huffed. "It would ease my mind a lot."

"Why do you still act like it's something bad when I'm assuring you that it's something _good_?" Lucifer asked. "It is, I promise."

Still doubtful, Ellie turned to Selina. "Do you know more about this than to just get me one of your 1860s dresses? _Please_ tell me you do!"

"Nope," Selina shook her head, her face apologetic. "That's all he told me. If I knew more, I would pass it on, but I don't."

"And that's exactly why I didn't tell her more than she needed to know: because I knew you'd try and cheat!" Lucifer said, although he still sounded good-natured. "I promise I will try and keep the noise to a minumum from now on. And I also promise, Eleanor, that the house will be back in one piece at some point." He grinned widely.

"It better be," Ellie scowled. "Or else you're gonna hear about it!"

"You know you're beautiful, Eleanor!" He told her.

"Oh, stop!" Ellie told him. "Go to Hell!" She threw her book at him and he deftly dodged it so that it hit a nearby wall hard and landed on the floor.

"Now that's not very nice, Eleanor!" He remonstrated, chuckling to himself. He was having much more fun than he knew he should.

Ellie stomped away with the rest of the book club in the direction of the nursery just as a frowning Vincent approached to have a word with Lucifer about the sounds of the renovation as well. He and Lauren had done what spells they could to minimize the effects the sounds of their son's crying would have on the rest of the house, but when it came to how the sounds of the household affected him, that still needed some work.

After Lisa was settled down and the women were seated in the living room again, Ellie cleared her throat and started the book discussion. "Now, to the matter at hand. Anyone have any thoughts? I liked this!"

"Really?" Lenora questioned with a grin. "Even though it didn't give you any ideas?"

"Well, just because it doesn't lead to any fantasies for me doesn't mean I can't enjoy it," Ellie pointed out. "In a way, I kind of relate to the heroine, you know? Being swept up by feelings so powerful and knowing that it might not end well, or that the relationship will make your life completely change...yeah, I've been there."

"Me too," Lenora added.

"And me," Victoria said.

"And me for sure!" Selina declared as even Amy nodded.

They'd all been there. And even though there had been some doubt, eventually, it had lead to some strangely wonderful happily ever after.

* * *

With the craziness connected to the renovations going on, the attention given to little Lisa was lax, especially when her minder was called to help with the situation. That led her to wander to the room a few doors away where Lee continued to look for the evidence he was convinced would tell him that Lucifer was his father and he'd be able to avenge years of neglect and abandonment.

He was on his knees in front of an open chest of papers and other knickknacks when he heard a loud voice behind him.

"Hi!" It yelled. It surprised him so much that he started and whacked his head on the chest's lid. His head smarting, he whipped around, grabbed the grinning little girl, and shook her. "Don't do that!" He cried, his eyes turning red. "Leave me alone!"

He expected the little girl to burst into tears, but instead, she frowned and bit him and when he let her go, she kicked him. "You're a bad man!" She said, clicking her tongue and shaking her finger at him. "I don't like you!"

He hissed at her and pounced. Eyes wide, she ran from the room and into the safety of the nursery and once she was gone, Lee got to his feet, shook his head, and adjusted his cuffs. "Good riddance," he whispered. "Now that that little brat is gone, I can actually get back to work."

* * *

Lee bringing out his bad side brought out some visible changes in her daughter that Amy was quick to notice as she drove her home.

"Did you have a good time at Ellie's today?" She asked. "Sorry you didn't see more of Mommy."

"It's okay," Lisa told her. But she was much more subdued than usual and when they got home and Amy put her down in her room for a nap, she didn't come out of her room again until it was clear to her that her father had returned home. Then she ran out and attached herself to Elijah's leg, holding tight. "Daddy's back!" She cried.

"It's nice to see you too," Elijah told her. "Did you have a good day?"

"I've been trying to get an answer to that question out of her since this morning, but nothing's come out," Amy shrugged. "I wonder if something happened at Ellie's."

"You're still taking her there for book club?" Elijah asked. "Why would you do that? You don't want our three year old wandering around the Devil's house! Who knows what she could get into? Just how well-supervised is she?"

"You know, if you wouldn't have fired the nanny behind my back, I wouldn't _have_ to take her with me to book club at the Devil's house!" Amy pointed out. "And if you wanna be so picky about the nannies we hire, how's the process going for selecting the next one?"

"I'm working on it, don't worry!" Elijah assured her. "But it's very complicated. I have a feeling that finding someone appropriate will take a while."

"If it's gonna take awhile, you're gonna have to start taking her sometimes," Amy proclaimed. "Not that watching her is a burden to me or anything, but really...if you're the reason why she has no nanny, you need to start taking responsibility for her." She then said to Lisa, "How would you like to spend more time with Daddy?"

"Yes!" Lisa grinned widely. "I'd like that very much!"

"Me too!" Elijah told her while he thought about how he would be able to keep track of her and still do everything else he needed to do. "It'll be lots of fun, won't it?"

* * *

The first chance he had to do more about Lisa's care came that night. Both he and Amy were awakened suddenly by the sound of their daughter crying. "I think it's your turn to see what's going on with her," Amy remarked and pulled the covers over her head. "And make sure to say something comforting. Don't just tell her that as a big girl, it's her job to go back to sleep."

"I wouldn't say that!" Elijah remarked and put on his bathrobe over his boxers.

"You have in the past," Amy pointed out.

Sighing, Elijah went to the door an tried not to let out a cry when he saw the tiny, dark figure in the hallway.

"Here you are," he said and picked her up. "What's the matter, darling? Can't you sleep?" They went into one of the nearby bathrooms andf turned on the light, and then Elijah handed his daughter a tissue from the box on top of the toilet tank so she wouldn't keep wiping her nose on her blanket. "There," he gave her a smile and a hug. "That's much better, isn't it?"

"Yes," Lisa nodded and sniffled.

"Now, what's the matter?" Elijah asked. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah," Lisa nodded. "I saw the bad man at Aunt Ellie's house."

"What about this man?" Elijah asked. "Did he hurt you?"

"No," Lisa shook her head. "I kicked him. But he's got scary eyes." She paused. "Can I sleep with you and Mommy?"

"All right, my brave girl," Elijah told her and gave her a hug. "You can sleep in my and your mother's bed and we'll see how you feel in the morning, all right?"

"Okay," Lisa nodded and kissed him as he gently took her blanket and threw it on top of the washing machine, his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Thank you, Daddy."

* * *

"I have a question," Toni said to Adrian the next morning after a make out session which led to a few quickies. Her face was pink as she laid her head on Adrian's chest. "I was talking to my sister and she was all excited about some party that Lucifer is throwing cause it's the first time since Nicky was born that she'll be able to do something adult. What do you know about it?"

"Oh, Lucifer wants to have a costume party to surprise his wife," Adrian shrugged. "Gone With The Wind theme. Not quite a fan of that myself. When you've got a mom who's lived through it and she's basically told you the reality of it, any attempt to make it seem glamorous just seems fake!"

"So you're not going?" Toni questioned. "Good! Cause I mean, if you went then I would have to go with you and can you see me in a big goofy dress with one of those silly little umbrellas? It would be ridiculous!" She burst out laughing, a very nice sound to Adrian's ears.

"I have to go," he told her. "I work that night. Luckily, Mom can help me with my costume. I'll probably be the most authentically outfitted person at the party." Then he grinned and whispered in her ear, "Plus, after that, you'll get to make it with a soldier. You ever fantasized about doing that?"

Toni chuckled, grabbed his face and kissed him soundly. "We'll see!" She paused, remembering her duties to the Dragon. This party would mean easy access to you know who. She couldn't miss it!

"So...Lucifer's actually gonna be there," she said. "Where in the house are they throwing the party?"

"Where else but the ballroom would they throw it, silly?" Adrian asked and hugged her. "Are you asking cause you wanna come too?"

"Yeah," Toni muttered, feeling guilty. "Exactly." Then she gave him a smile. "Will that be a problem? I don't exactly have time to get a costume and it's probably too soon to ask your mother to sew one."

"Oh, Mom doesn't have to sew anything from scratch," Adrian assured her. "She's got like every dress she's ever owned stored various places, so all we need to do is have her pull out another dress for you and make alterations if need be. I'm sure it won't be any trouble at all."

"Good," Toni nodded. "Cause I wouldn't want it to be any trouble."

Adrian smiled and kissed her one last time. "It won't," he repeated. "I'll even give her a heads-up about it for you. What color do you want?"

"Well, you'll be in gray, right? Isn't it gray?" Toni questioned.

"Yep," Adrian nodded. "Definitely. But we don't have to coordinate if you think that's too cheesy."

"What doesn't coordinate with gray?" Toni pointed out. "It's a neutral."

"Well, aren't you lucky then?" Adrian asked. "You have lots of options."

"Let's go with blue," Toni finally decided. "Really dark blue. Or at least a blue that's darker."

"Nice," Adrian grinned. "It'll go so well with your pretty eyes." He then cleared his throat. "I'm gonna be heading to work after I dress," he finished. "Need anything from me before I go?"

"Well, yes," Toni chuckled. "But if I ask for it, you'll be here all day!" She got out of bed and put a t-shirt over her head, then headed for the shower. "I'll be fine," she assured him. "Have a good day at work!"

"I will," Adrian promised her. "See you tonight!"

* * *

After Toni got out of the shower and went back into the main bedroom to dress, towel wrapped tightly around herself, she let out a shriek when she saw the Dragon stretched out on Adrian's bed.

"Surprise!" she grinned, her dark eyes glinting.

"I don't like surprises!" Toni got out, trying to keep the towel on her body and not falling to the floor. "What do you want?"

"I think you should know by now," The Dragon replied. "There's only one reason I would visit you and it's not because we're friends. What else do you have to tell me about what's going on with Lucifer Morningstar? Do you have more information?"

"What's with you and him, anyway?" Toni asked, grabbing some underwear from the drawer Adrian had given her and putting it on under the towel. "Why do you want him dead so bad?"

"That is none of your business," The Dragon snapped. "Not important to your mission. Now tell me what I want to know or I will hurt you until you do! I'm sure Adrian wouldn't find you so pretty if you had your face slashed up or were without your head, would he?"

Toni's eyes widened, her breathing picked up, and she let out an "Eep!" Then she got out, "He's gonna have a ball at his house. I don't know when it is, though."

The Dragon smiled. "See, it wasn't so hard to give me some helpful information, was it? Now, will there be lots of people at this ball? I would assume so."

"Yes," Toni nodded. "But again, I don't know when it will be, so don't ask me that."

"Find out," The Dragon snapped. "And when you do, let me know immediately. I have a feeling it's going to be a _very_ hot party." Then she grinned, disappearing before Toni's eyes, and leaving her alone to dress at last, wondering just what the heck her mentor had meant, even though, regardless, it probably wasn't anything good.

* * *

"Hi, Daddy!" Angelica greeted him as she came out of the kitchen and followed him around as he checked on the various workmen's progress with the renovations for the ball. "I'm going to preface this question by saying I'm not spying for Mom. She didn't put me up to it. What's all the construction for?"

Lucifer suddenly grabbed her and shielded her head as some of the ceiling fell and landed right where she'd been standing. "Sorry about that," he apologized and dusted off his blue suit jacket. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Angelica shook her head and smiled, shaking out her arms and legs. "Thanks to you, I'm all right."

"Good," Lucifer nodded. "In that case...can you keep a secret?"

"Sure!" Angelica nodded. "Is it about the construction?"

"Yes," Lucifer told her. "What it's for...it's for you and Lee's wedding."

" _What_?" Angelica cried as the color drained from her cheeks and her knees buckled under her as she hoped fervantly for another piece of ceiling to fall and knock her unconscious. "What do you _mean_? I am not marrying him! I told you, I don't love him! Grandpa even told you to lay off, so what is your _problem?"_ She was so mad she forgot it was her father she was talking to and would have slapped him if he hadn't grabbed her wrist before it made contact with his face.

"Well, okay, that was a terrible joke, apparently," he got out, keeping his voice low. "So here's the truth: It's a surprise for your mother. A little costume party with a Gone With The Wind theme. I think it'll be fun. Don't you?"

"Yes," Angelica nodded. "I don't see what Mom could have against a party."

"See, you know, that's exactly what I thought, but she insists on being paranoid anyway, even though I have assured her _repeatedly_ that she has nothing to worry about," Lucifer remarked with a shrug. "So nice to know that in this case, you're being much more sensible than she is."

"I'm not ever gonna marry Lee or anyone who isn't Sammy," Angelica got out. "So if you _do_ have it in your head to push me off on someone else, it won't happen and I _will_ make things difficult for you when it comes to stuff like that until I get my point across."

"What _is_ it with you and your brother having strong attachments to Lauren and...what's his name, when they're not supposed to be anything but nice diversions, and even then, I'm being generous in your case." Lucifer asked her, genuinely dumbfounded.

"Oh, yes," Angelica said dryly. " _Very_ generous. And his _name_ is Sammy!"

"Whatever," Lucifer scoffed. "Will you keep the party for your mother a secret?"

"Of course," Angelica nodded. " _If_ I don't have to go with Lee, that is. I don't even have to bring Sammy. Just don't make me have to go with Lee!" She really had no intention of telling her mother anything, but it was a nice little power trip to shake her dad up like this.

"Well, I realize that you'll do what you want," Lucifer told her. "But it...it would be nice if you could escort him to the party, since he's a guest here, you know."

"He's _your_ guest, not mine!" Angelica pointed out. "And why should I have to escort him anywhere? He's already in the house! And I think he can find his way to the ballroom without getting lost!"

"One dance then," Lucifer got out. "One dance wouldn't hurt you, especially if _that boy_ isn't coming."

"We'll see," Angelica told him, then turned on her heel and began to walk away. "I'll have to think about it."

* * *

"Have your parents recovered from meeting your grandpa?" Asked _that boy_ when Angelica talked to him on the phone that night.

"Dad's pretending that he didn't talk with him at all, which is probably a good thing, considering all the issues that bog those two down," she said. "But Mom was a bit bummed. She really wanted more time to talk with Grandpa."

"I can see why she would," Sammy agreed. "Anything else going on?"

"Dad's having a surprise costume party ball thingie for Mom," Angelica told him. "And he sort of doesn't want you to come. I hope you're not offended."

"No, I'm not," Sammy assured her. "I get it. It doesn't bother me what your dad thinks. It only matters to me what you think and what I think."

"And the fact that Grandpa is on your side probably doesn't hurt either, right?" Angelica asked knowingly.

"No," Sammy replied, his voice smug. "Not really." He paused. "And even if your dad _did_ allow me to come to the party, I'd have to decline. Dad and Mom have been sending out my songs to some of their friends and I got a few bites! So I'm off to work with that."

"You're getting noticed for your songwriting?" Angelica asked. "Sammy, that's _wonderful_! I'm so proud of you! They didn't give my song away, did they? Or put it up for consideration, or whatever?"

"No," Sammy told her. "I keep your song someplace special. I might never let it go beyond you and me unless I decide to have my own singing career someday. Then it will be my first hit."

"I thought you couldn't sing, though," Angelica said.

"I _can_ ," Sammy corrected. "I just don't like to. There's a difference, you know."

"Well, I'm very proud of you anyway," Angelica told him. "I always knew you were meant for better things than sweeping up a bar." She paused. "And when you get to where you're going, give me a call, all right? I want to make sure you got there safe."

"I don't leave for a little while, but of course I'll let you know when the plane touches down," Sammy assured her. "I wouldn't mind one bit."


	102. Drawing Lines In The Sand

When the renovations were finished, Lucifer asked Lucy, (who had helped him with the look for the renovations), what she would do regarding invitations for the ball.

"Well, if you're gonna have it be the theme that we discussed, I think we should have fancy invitations," She said and made up a guest list including her mother and Dorian, Father Klaus and Sybil, Uncle Elijah, and some others. "I can do calligraphy." She paused. "And you said Ellie doesn't know about this, right? You should probably tell her soon. As in, before the party."

"You don't think it'll be a special thrill to just bring her into the ballroom the night of?" Lucifer questioned.

"She's pregnant," Lucy said firmly. "Didn't you say she was? I don't think she needs more surprises on her hands."

"Oh, all right," Lucifer sighed. He had been eagerly anticipating the look on Eleanor's face when they entered the ballroom together and now that fantasy was ruined. "Do you need me to get some people in here to help you with the invites?"

"No, I think I can handle it," Lucy assured him. "You go about your business."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "You need anything else, just let me know!"

* * *

"A _ball_?" Sybil asked as Lucy hand delivered her and Klaus' invitations. "We're being invited to a _ball_?"

"Well, do you not want to come?" Lucy asked, reaching out across the sofa where she sat to take the envelope from Sybil. "Cause I can always take the invitation back and make an excuse for you."

"No, no," Sybil shook her head and held the invitation out of Lucy's grip. "It's just that...I haven't been to a ball since I was married to Dorian, so they don't bring up the fondest of memories, but...I'm sure that since I'm with someone else now, it'll be fun."

"And Christopher and Hannah are invited too, so it's not like you'll have no one to talk to," Lucy added.

"Well, that's a good start," Sybil nodded, making a note to call her other son Eric, since it had been a while since she'd talked to him, even though it was a crap shoot whether he would answer the phone or not.

"Was it your idea to put my cemetery photo up over the sofa?" Lucy asked. The picture was in a very prominent place and Lucy was glad for that, since Sybil and her father knew a lot of people and showing her work got her attention and good business.

"Yep," Sybil nodded. "The second your father finished using it for painting, I thought we should just put it up because it would be a shame not to." She paused. "You should really go see how your father is coming along with his next picture. It's a marvelous rendition of a picture I took."

"I think I'll do just that," Lucy smiled. "Thanks, Sybil." She bade her stepmother farewell and made her way to her father's studio. The door was closed and She could hear Chopin playing softly. That meant her father was deep into whatever painting he was doing and it would be best to slip the invitation under the door and knock. But she hadn't seen him in a while, and she wanted to...so she just knocked

Then the music turned off, and a few seconds later, the door opened, Klaus, blinking several times when he saw his daughter, his mouth opening and closing before he smiled and invited her in, instead of saying what he'd been planning on, which was to wait.

"Sorry I interrupted," she told him after taking a seat on a stool. "I came to deliver invitations to a ball Lucifer is throwing, but then I realized I hadn't seen you and I didn't want to leave without at least telling you 'Hello'."

"And I'm glad you did," Klaus told her. "I'm glad to see you too. Now I'm working on a moon painting."

"Can I see the finished cemetery portrait or not?" Lucy asked. "Oh, and here's the ball invitation. It's Gone With The Wind themed."

"I bet your mother will love that." Klaus paused. "She's coming too, right?"

"Well, naturally," Lucy nodded. "I just haven't dropped off her and Dorian's invites yet. Uncle Elijah will also, so don't get in a fight with him."

"Of course I won't," Klaus scoffed. "I have enough sense not to ruin a party, Lucy Elizabeth."

"Well, good," Lucy smiled. "That's nice." She paused as her father opened his envelope and took the invitation out. "You like the invite?" She asked. "I did the calligraphy myself."

"I do," Klaus nodded. "It's lovely."

Lucy smiled and talked to her father for a bit longer before reluctantly remembering how many invites she had to deliver and because of that, she had to give him a kiss on the cheek and be on her way.

After she saw her father, she dropped off invitations to her mother and uncle. (And their significant others, of course.)

"Oh, and Lucifer also told me that you could bring Lisa if you wanted," Lucy added as she spoke to Amy. "I don't know if that lessens your stress or adds to it."

"Well, we were hoping to leave her with Lily and Arthur for the night because there's something about that house that's frightening Lisa, but unfortunately that won't work, so we'll have to bring her," Amy said. "Is that bad? Do you think I'm a bad parent? Maybe we should just skip the party."

"I'll be there watching over things," Lucy assured her. "I can keep an eye out for anything strange. Lisa will be all right, I promise."

"Thanks," Amy smiled at her and took the envelopes for her and Elijah, who would be glad for any excuse to dress up. "That takes a load off my mind. Sorry you missed your uncle. He had to work late writing up grades or something for his history class."

"I'll give him a call," Lucy said. "It's not a problem."

* * *

After she left Elijah and Amy's, and dropped off invitations for Josh and Sarah, she headed back to Lucifer's to slip Christopher his invite along with the one for Hannah, and then asking him, as a favor to her, if he would drop off the invitations for his grandfather Jeffrey and Gwen. (She realized too late that she could have given those to Sybil, but she assumed Christopher could do the job just as well.)

"Sure," Christopher assured her. "Despite how weird my first meeting with Grandpa was, we're on much better terms now. I'll get it done for you."

"Thanks," Lucy smiled at him. "I appreciate it."

"How many more of these do you have to deliver?" He questioned.

"Just the one, I think," Lucy told him. "I gotta give Lucifer the one for Ellie. He said he would tell her before the party. I just hope it doesn't shock her too much."

* * *

"Sir?" Lucifer looked up as Ellie's secretary, Melanie, poked her head through his door. "Sorry to disturb you, but I just got a call from your wife and she says you need to come home right away. She's had some sort of emergency."

"What kind?" Lucifer cried, jumping to his feet and sprinting over his desk. "Is she hurt? What happened?"

"Oh, no, she's not hurt," Melanie assured him. "She just...she needs the handcuff key. Or for you to use the handcuff key on her. Right away. She's in your master bathroom."

"Interesting," Lucifer said. He was no longer totally panicked. Now it was a mix of panic and curiosity with a little bit of arousal. "Thank you, Melanie. I don't know when I'll be back. If I haven't returned in an hour, tell everyone they can have the rest of the afternoon off, cause I won't be returning."

"All right," Melanie saluted after pushing some of her dark hair out of her eyes. "Will do!"

"Okay," Lucifer panted as he paused next to the open bathroom door for a moment before making his way into the master bathroom. Though he was convinced Ellie wasn't in danger, there were other reasons for him to speed home.

When he got inside, he found her naked, her arm over her head and cuffed to the shower rod. He paused, open-mouthed, his eyes roving over her body.

"Hey?" She snapped her fingers with her free hand. "Wanna help me out?" She didn't want to explain that she was trying some new sexy tricks so he wouldn't get tired of her as she put more weight on cause that would be too embarrassing.

"Just a minute," Lucifer told her. He thought about asking her how she'd gotten in this position, but it hardly mattered. Not when she looked like this. Instead, he filled the large, empty tub full of pillows, undid the handcuffs and then helped her into the tub before undressing and coming in with her. He began kissing her neck, his hands roaming over her body.

"I have to tell you something," He whispered reaching over the side of the tub and pulling the envelope from his rumpled pants pockets. "We're having a party. That's what the dress is for. I think you'll enjoy it."

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth, undoubtedly to complain, but he silenced her with a kiss, followed by an orgasm as she clung tightly to him.

"Why are we doing this in the bathtub again?" She panted as one of the pillows shifted underneath her and she felt the hardness of the empty tub against her back. "Couldn't you have at least taken me to bed?"

"Sorry," he told her and nibbled on her ear. "I was impatient. So glad your accident was that you handcuffed yourself to the shower rod and it wasn't that you were injured."

Finally they finished with satisfied sighs and as Ellie held onto him, her head on his chest, he said, "You didn't tell me what you think about the party. Won't it be fun?"

"Fun?" Ellie asked, eyes wide. "How can you...how can you have a party now? How can you expect me to go out in front of people when I'm so fat? I mean, look at you! You're practically squished against one corner of the tub because I take up so much damn room!"

"But I don't understand!" Lucifer told her. "You were so excited before!"

"That's because I thought you were the only one who would see me!" Ellie cried. "I thought the dress was all part of some fantasy you were working out, and I was fine with that. But this? A party in front of people? I don't know. I mean, I'll go since you already fixed up the house for it and have probably sent out invitations. But I...I don't know how long I'm gonna last."

"Well, you can stay as long as you want," Lucifer promised. "I won't make you stay all night if you're too tired. The whole point of this was to cheer you up a little."

"Thanks for the thought," Ellie gave him a small smile. "Who knows, it still could. It might not be so bad." She paused, shifting position. "Can we get out of this tub now? It's doing a number on my back."

"Sure," Lucifer smiled and got out. "We can move to the bed now. And I let everyone off work, so I can be here as long as we want."

"Don't trip over your pants," Ellie warned him. "I don't want you getting hurt either."

* * *

Lucifer was in a good mood the rest of the day, but it was quickly evaporated when Angelica came to see him later. She looked extremely tense. "How are you?" She asked him.

"Good," Lucifer told her cautiously. "Why? You obviously don't seem well."

"Because I want to talk to you about something and I know you're gonna fight me on it, but I think we should talk about it anyway," Angelica replied and led him to her room, where she got down on her knees in front of a large dollhouse that resembled the mansion.

"I gave that to your mother, you know," Lucifer grinned. "What caught your eye about it?"

"I thought it was pretty and playing with the dolls helps me think," Angelica replied seriously, moving the little dolls around the rooms. "Now, you wanna tell me about you and Grandpa?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head. "What do you need to know that I haven't already told you?"

"Well, how can you still hate Him so much after He set you up with mom?" Angelica asked. "Why are you so freaked out by Him?"

"I think that if someone got mad at you and tossed you into hell for no good reason, you'd be wary of them too, right?" Lucifer asked.

"Well, of course, but I don't see what the problem is at all," Angelica told him. "Sure you're entitled to your feelings, and I have no doubt that whatever bad blood is between you and Grandpa is justified, but...your experiences with Him aren't the same as mine. I don't think, no matter what you say, that He'll turn on me. I mean, when I would see Him at the hospital, He would always make sure I'd eaten and we'd talk and He would say how proud he was of me...it was...it was nothing like what you said." She braced herself for more protest about how it was all lies and she was foolish to be suckered in by her grandfather's nonsense, but she was surprised by the change that came over her father's face. How his eyes teared up. He look dumbstruck.

"He...he said all that to you?" Lucifer asked in a muted voice. "He was encouraging? He was kind? He made you feel loved?"

"Yes," Angelica replied softly, reaching out to put a hand on her father's arm. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. That's why I want to have a relationship with him. Cause He seems...good."

"And I suppose that if that's your experience, nothing I can say to the contrary will sway you," Lucifer sighed. "Even if I'm doing so for your own good."

"No," Angelica told him. "Cause there's nothing to worry about! I want to have a relationship with Him just like I want to have one with you and one will not take away from the other. That's all I want to say. That's how things are now."

"Well, good luck with that," Lucifer told her. "Now that he's done what he came to do, I bet he's disappeared."

"No, actually he hasn't," Angelica shook her head. "He took the body of a nice devout man who offered it, and now he's living in his house so he can watch all this happen and make sure everything turns out how it's supposed to."

"You mean how He wants it to," Lucifer scoffed. "No free will there. He's just controlling everything. But fine, if that's the sort of person you want to assciate with, that's your choice. It would obviously be hypocritical of me to stand in the way."

"Yes it would," Angelica replied. "And if...if you want me to leave because you don't like my choice, I will. I wouldn't want to make you unhappy."

"No, I don't want you to leave!" Lucifer told her. "You can stay. I might be mad at you, but that's no reason to throw you out."

"Well, I'm gonna leave anyway," Angelica told him. "At least for the night, or until you're kinder about this whole business."

"May I remind you that _you_ were the one who insisted we continue to talk about something that I'd already decided to repress cause I knew that talking any more about it would lead to something like this happening?" Lucifer snapped. "So if you're upset with how the conversation went, if you're upset with what I had to say, blame yourself, not me. You didn't _have_ to hear _any_ of what I said!"

"If anyone other than you wants to talk to me, I'll be at Sammy's," Angelica told him, eyes narrowed. "He's leaving soon to do things with his music and I want to spend all the time I can with him before then."

"Fine," Lucifer scoffed. "You do that. I don't care!"

"I will," Angelica shot back and strode out of her bedroom. "Good thing you're not trying to stop me!"

* * *

She reached Sammy's apartment not long after, and he answered the door, surprised to see her. "Hi," he told her. "I was just about to head out to my fishing cabin. But I suppose I could hold that off for a day."

"Thanks, but I would much rather come _with_ you to your fishing cabin, if that's all right with you," Angelica told him. "That's in the middle of nowhere from what i remember, right?"

"Yeah, but you hate my fishing cabin," Sammy reminded her. "So why would you want to go there again?"

"Well, for one thing, Dad's still struggling with the idea of me having good relationships with both him _and_ Grandpa, so I told him I was gonna stay away until he changed his mind, and second...second, you're leaving to go on your trip and I want to spend as much time with you as I can," she grinned. "I don't care where it is."

"All right," Sammy nodded. "If you want to go to my fishing cabin, I'm not gonna stop you. But when i go there, I catch lunch and dinner. I hope that's not a problem for you."

"No," Angelica shook her head. "I'll even do it and earn my keep if you'll teach me."

"You will?" Sammy raised an eyebrow.

"You sound skeptical," Angelica told him. "Why are you skeptical? I could fish if I wanted to!"

"I'm not saying you couldn't!" Sammy told her and put his hands up. "I'm just...I don't want you to be bored! And I think you will be."

"No, I won't!" Angelica assured him. "No time spent with you could be boring."

* * *

"When are the fish going to start biting?" Angelica asked as she kneeled on her side of Sammy's old boat, clutching her still pole. "It seems we've been out here for hours!"

"See? This is exactly why I thought you wouldn't want to go fishing with me!" Sammy told her. "I knew you would be bored!"

"Wait a minute!" Angie cried, feeling a tug from her pole and grinning widely because of it. "Wait a minute! I think I got one!"

Sammy turned and saw her pole bobbing. "Yeah, you did!" He nodded. "Reel it in quick before it escapes!"

Angelica did, her body full of adrenaline. When she pulled the fish into the boat, she was also soaked with a bunch of water.

"Hold on to it so it doesn't hop out!" Sammy instructed as he freed it from the pole. "That's a good sized one! You're gonna eat well tonight!"

"We can share," she told him. "It's all right."

"No, you're sweet, but you don't have to," He smiled and soon produced a fish of his own. "See? I got one of my own. But it doesn't seem to be as big as yours, though."

After he caught a couple more, they took them back to the cabin and stuck them in the freezer. "You should tell your mom about catching a fish," Sammy said with a smile. "I think she'd be proud of you."

"Yeah," Angelica smiled. "I think I will, at some point." She got up from the kitchen table. "I'm gonna make myself some tea. Want some?"

"No, thanks," Sammy told her. "I'm good."

Angelica drank her tea as he fried their fish. "You know, this really isn't such a bad place," she said as she looked around. "Very cozy."

"And is that code for 'cramped'?" Sammy questioned.

"No, it's not code for anything," Angelica shook her head. "I'm trying to give you a compliment, can't you take it?"

"You're right, sorry," Sammy apologized. "It's just that sometimes I don't know with you, you know? Sometimes you can sound like you're giving a compliment when you're really being insulting."

"Well, I'm trying not to talk to you like that anymore," Angelica told him. "Cause I know it's not nice."

He paused frying the fish up and looked at her. Before going out on his boat, she'd changed into some clothes he'd zapped up: worn blue jeans and a t-shirt with a sweatshirt over it with tan hiking boots on her feet. Her hair was put back, showing off her lovely eyes. She looked amazing.

"What?" She asked, which made him realize he was staring. "Don't make the fish burn."

"Oh," Sammy shook his head. "I just...aren't you glad you changed your clothes?"

"Yeah," Angelica nodded, swinging her feet, which had socks with smiling lobsters on them, over the floor. "Thanks for the suggestion. Now I'm nice and warm!"

"You look good too," Sammy added.

"Sarcasm?" Angelica asked. Cause she still wasn't sure how good she could look in casual wear.

"No," Sammy shook his head and blew her a kiss. "Of course not."

Angelica then blushed and shook her head, going back to finishing her tea until he brought the fish to the table.

"I took the bones out," he told her. "That way you won't choke. They're small and sneaky, fish bones."

"Thanks," Angelica told him and then took a bite, loving the smoky flavor. "Oh, my gosh! This is so _good_!"

"Slow down," Sammy smiled. "I got rid of one way for you to choke. I don't want there to be another."

"Sorry," Angelica apologized, her mouth full. "I just really like it."

"Good," Sammy smiled and then leaned across the table to kiss her after she swallowed. "I'm glad. And I'm glad you came tonight."

"Yeah," Angelica grinned, then took his hand and squeezed it. "Me too!"

* * *

"What do you say we leave Nicky with Dexter and the others and have a night out?" Vincent asked Lauren as she nursed their son. "It doesn't even have to be for a long time. We could probably do dinner in an hour tops!"

Lauren looked up at him, "I don't know how comfortable I am leaving a small baby with demons!" She said. "I just...it freaks me out to think what they might do to him!"

"They don't do anything bad!" Vincent scoffed and came up behind Lauren's rocking chair to play with her hair. "I mean I was raised by demons and look at me!"

"That's not really helping your case," Lauren told him. "Look, I realize that staying home's not fun for you, but it's what we have to do now. It's the responsible thing."

"What's that all supposed to mean?" Vincent asked. "Are you telling me I'm a bad influence on my own son? And I don't see why I should stay home when you won't even let me take care of him at all. If you think you can just tell me what do, then you're wrong. I can leave if I want to."

"Fine, do that," Lauren told him without looking up and then making cooing noises at the baby. But don't call before you come back. The phone ringing might wake Nicky."

Vincent just made a face and headed to the door. "Fine, I'm leaving. And may I remind you as you disparage demons that you're one too?" Then he slammed the door out of spite, making Nicky cry and Lauren sigh as she burped him. What had gotten into Vincent she had no idea, but she hoped it ended soon.

* * *

"You wanna go out somewhere with me?" Vincent asked Christopher. "I need some air."

"Sure," Christopher nodded. "I would love to. I've been wanting to ask you something like that, but I know you have a kid to take care of, so..."

"I know I do, but Lauren won't let me so," Vincent shrugged. "We'll take my car."

"Sounds good," Christopher replied. He took his phone out of his pocket and left it on his desk. Ever since Hannah had gotten the invitation to the ball, she'd been talking his ear off about it, so it was kind of nice to have an excuse to be unreachable, at least for a while.

When they got to the Underground (they'd tried for several minutes to think of a new place to go, but they couldn't agree on anything) they ordered drinks and chatted with Roxie, then, once Vincent had gotten a few beers in him, he gestured at some pretty, scantily clad girls who were waving at him from the dance floor. "I'm gonna go dance with them," he grinned. "Don't wait up for me. We might do more than just dance."

" _What_?" Christopher asked, his eyes wide as he rushed onto the dance floor after his friend. "What are you talking about? You're married!"

"Yeah, I _know_ that," Vincent rolled his eyes. "But what Lauren doesn't know won't hurt her. Besides, Nick's the only guy she wants in her life now, so what's it gonna matter to her if I cheat?"

"I wouldn't do this!" Christopher told him, even as another woman pulled him away to dance with her. "I don't see this ending well. Don't do something you're gonna regret."

"Oh, I won't regret this," Vincent grinned and pulled one of the women to him, kissing her soundly as she squeezed his bottom. "I won't regret it a bit!"


	103. Ellie's Party: Part One

"Can I come in yet?" Lucifer knocked on the door. "Selina told me that she'd gotten you dressed!"

"Sure," Ellie told him. The dress she wore was lavendar and even though Aunt Selina had said it was fitting exactly how a dress of the time would have fit on a pregnant woman who wasn't wearing a corset, it still was not as comfortable as she would have liked it to be. She hopped a couple of times and looked longingly at a white box under the bed, which contained era appropriate sexy underthings. Her aunt had given them to her with a wink. Ellie knew they were for later in the evening after everyone had gone home, but since she figured they were more roomy, she wanted them now.

"Well, don't you look lovely?" Lucifer remarked with a grin as he put a hand to his heart and offered her his arm. "Are you ready to go downstairs? Or do you need to rest a bit longer?"

"No, I'm...I'm good," Ellie said. She could hear people arriving for the party and she didn't want to disappoint them. Plus, the sooner she got out there, the sooner she could leave. "Let's do this. You look good too, by the way. Very handsome."

Lucifer grinned and blushed a little, gently tugging on the ringlets that framed her face and watching them bounce back into place as they walked out of the room and made their way to the ballroom. "You're too kind."

"I know I don't say it enough," she remarked. "I'm gonna try and do that more often." They got to the edge of the ballroom and Ellie looked in, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that the crowd was not as big as she feared it would be: Her children and their significant others, the staff they saw most often, and a few members of her own family as well as some upper tier demons, like Jeffery, who was there with a woman Ellie had never seen, but wanted to know. "A much smaller group than I thought," she said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Lucifer whispered back as they approached the group. "I told you that I wanted this to be fun for you, and if there was a big crowd, it wouldn't have been much fun for you. Do you want to mingle on your own? I know you're not an invalid. You don't need me clinging to you."

"Oh, but I like that," she smiled. "I don't mind at all." She was teasing however and when her mother called her name, she stepped away from Lucifer and went to join her and Josh.

"What a nice party," Sarah remarked. "Was this your idea?"

"No, it was Lucifer's, actually," Ellie said. "She wanted to cheer me up."

"Why would you need cheering up?" Josh asked. "What's the matter? Have you two had a fight?"

"No, no!" Ellie said quickly as her stepfather's eyes darkened. "No, we're fine. I just..I'm, you know, pregnant again and I haven't been feeling well."

"Good god!" Josh exclaimed. "Again? Do either of you use any sort of protection?"

"Yes, but...do you want me to go into possible reasons why that might not necessarily help?" Ellie questioned.

"No," Josh sighed. "No, thanks. I'm not drunk enough yet."

"He means 'Congratulations, Ellie Bean! We're so happy for you!'" Sarah interpreted.

"Thanks!" Ellie told them. "It was a bit of a surprise, though it shouldn't be by now. Been tired a lot. And eating a lot. But I'm good now."

"Well, make sure you stay hydrated and rest when you're tired," Sarah told her. "And if you want to stop by the gym and do some more pregnancy exercises classes, I have spaces open."

"Good," Ellie smiled and gave her mother a hug. "I just might do that." She paused. "Is Junior around? Lucifer forgot to give him an invite at first, but I slipped it to him."

"Oh, yeah," Sarah nodded. "He's around here somewhere. You find Maeve, you'll find him."

"Maeve came?" Ellie asked in surprise. "I would have thought she'd be too far along to find something like this comfortable." She paused. "Well, if she goes into labor, at least Junior will be there to help her!"

She found them soon after and chatted for a bit. Maeve was wearing a modern maternity dress and Junior was more appropriately outfitted for the occasion.

"Thanks so much for coming," Ellie told Maeve. "This can't be easy for you."

"You're telling me," Maeve squirmed uncomfortably. "I've never felt this uncomfortable in my whole life!" She then got up, excused herself, and ran to the bathroom.

"She's gonna be due any day now," Junior said. "If the girls want to come out tonight, I won't be surprised."

Ellie nodded, then continued to walk around the room and spending extra time chatting with Jeffrey and his lovely date Gwen, a witch who seemed very on her game, and keeping an eye out for her children. Vincent was talking with Christopher and Hannah while Lauren sat at the snack table and ate,, and Valerie was making out with Dexter in a corner, but she didn't see Angelica. Where in the world was her younger daughter?

"Have you seen Angelica?" She asked Adrian.

"No," Adrian shook his head. "Don't know where she is. She might still be in her room."

"Ah," Ellie nodded. "What about Toni?"

"She needed more time to dress and otherwise get ready," Adrian replied. "I'm gonna pick her up a little later."

* * *

"Go away!" Angelica called as she paced around her bedroom, the skirt of her white lace dress swinging back and forth as she walked. Lee had been standing outside the locked door for several minutes, knocking and shouting that it was time for her to escort him out. "I hear you! I know what I'm supposed to do! Just...just hold your damn horses! Haven't you heard of the benefits of being fashionably late?"

The truth was, she had made a video date with Sammy so he could see her in her dress and she would not be denied that. She just had to wait for him to appear. Finally, his grinning face appeared on her phone. "Hi," she said. "Wanna see my dress?"

"Sure," Sammy nodded. "Or you could just keep the phone where it is. I like this nice view of your boobs. That dress makes them seem really ample!"

"Oh, stop," Angelica giggled, buttoned up the neckline of the dress, and moved the phone back so he could get a better look. "There you go. Can you see all of me now?"

Sammy sucked in a breath and stared for several minutes without saying anything before he finally got out, "You look so lovely."

"Thanks," she said, then grasped for more ways to delay her appearance at the ball. "So...how's your trip?"

"Good!" Sammy assured her with a smile. "I got a few tapes out, the sun is lovely, and if I'm lucky, I'll have a deal in place before I come home!"

"Well yay!" Angie said. "We should celebrate when you get back!"

"Oh, we definitely will!" Sammy agreed.

Lee knocked again. "You don't come out of there by the count of ten, I'm coming in!" He yelled and kicked the door.

"What the hell is that?" Sammy asked, his eyebrows knitting into a frown. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, don't worry," Angelica assured him. "It's nobody important. Just the idiot my father wants me to be with instead of you. You don't have to pay attention to him. I'm late to the ball and since I'm supposed to be escorting him, it's making him cranky."

"Well, I'm touched you're using me as a way to escape your responsibilities, but I really think you should go if the ball's already started," Sammy said, his voice full of regret. "I'll call you tonight. Maybe we can have a little fun over the phone."

"I would love that," Angelica told him. "Damn it, I deserve it too! Let's do it!" They blew each other one last kiss and ended the conversation, then Angelica strode to the door and opened it, making Lee, who was taking a flying leap at the door in an attempt to knock it down, fall flat on his face.

"Nice of you to drop in," she remarked dryly. "Now get up and let's get this over with."

"It's about time," Lee spat. "You know what I do to people who keep me waiting?"

"Oh, I'd love to see," Angelica said as she preceded him out the door. "Even in this dress, if you start anything, I can still kick your ass." She grabbed him by the arm and they fought each other as she dragged him to the ballroom, pulled him inside, and pushed him onto the ballroom floor. "There you go," she said, her gaze dark. "I've escorted you in. Have a good night." Then, without making sure he was okay, she strode proudly into the ballroom joining her grinning sister at the snack table.

"That was harsh," Valerie grinned. "And _awesome!_ Didn't know you had it in you."

"Why not?" Angelica asked and took a glass of wine. "I have the same urges in me that you. The same feelings. Even Mom's got a dark side, so why can't I?"

"I didn't say you didn't," Valerie remarked. "You wanna come shopping with me tomorrow? That clearance sale I've been waiting for all year is going on and I know there's some stuff you'll like too."

"Isn't that the sale that's utter chaos?" Angelica questioned. "The one that leads to stampedes and people being trampled?"

"Yeah, but that's what makes it so fun!" Valerie told her. "There's this dress I've had my eye on for days and I can't wait to get it. And there'll be tons of shoes you can get practically for free, depending on how shady you wanna be! And then afterward, we can get cookies!"

"All right," Angelica nodded. "Sounds good to me!" Then she noticed their father coming toward her. "Gotta go circulate!" She said and began moving around the room. "See you later!"

* * *

"Why aren't you ready for the ball?" A concerned Adrian asked Toni. He had come to pick her up, but she was still in her jeans and t-shirt. "I thought you wanted to come!"

"I did," Toni nodded. She was sitting on the sofa with her knees to her chest. "But something changed. Can't tell you more than that."

"Is that Dragon person plotting something?" Adrian asked and massaged her shoulders. "Do I need to keep an extra close eye out?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but with her, you should _always_ keep an eye out, whether you have a specific lead." She paused. "You shouldn't even be here. You should be back at the mansion." She paused. "And if things get hot, make a run for it."

"Oh, please," Adrian chuckled. "With me in there, things are _already_ hot!"

Toni frowned. "Adrian, I'm serious."

"Okay, okay," Adrian gave her a kiss. "Since you're not coming, I might as well go. Make sure you eat something."

"And give your mom my apologies!" Toni told her. "The dress won't go to waste, though. We might be able to use it tonight!"

"Really?" Adrian turned and strode back to her. "You know, there are lots of guards. I don't see why we have to wait until tonight when we can just have a little fun now."

He began unbuttoning the shirt of his uniform and kissed her soundly but she quickly pushed him away. "No, no," she said. "Not that I wouldn't love that, but...I can wait. We both can. You being at the party tonight to help people is much more important."

"Help people with what?" Adrian asked. "What's gonna happen?"

"I...I think that the Dragon is gonna attack the party," Toni blurted out. "Maybe even set the mansion on fire. And right now, you're the only one who knows. Other than me. Get to the party and tell people so they can get the guests out. If my sister and nephew die, I just...I don't think I'll be able to handle it. I can't lose more family to another fire."

"You won't," Adrian assured her, grabbing her, holding her close to him, and kissing her hair. "I'll make doubly sure they get out. It shouldn't be hard. Lauren's pretty much just been hanging out by one of the doors all night anyway."

"Thanks," Toni told him. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem," Adrian told her and picked her up as he kissed her soundly one more time. "You know I'd do anything for you, right?"

"Yeah," Toni smiled. "I do." She hugged him and just rested against his solid body for a few seconds before she opened her eyes and stepped away. "Go!" She urged, eyes wide. "Go! For all we know, the mansion could be on fire already!"

"I would know if it was," Adrian tried to comfort her as he made his way to the door. "But I should probably go. You're right." He paused. "And you're sure you don't want to come with me?"

"No, thanks," Toni shook her head. "I know it might sound selfish, but our family has had bad luck with surviving fires lately, and I don't want to risk being another casualty."

"All right," Adrian nodded. "Fair enough. See you later."

* * *

"And just where were you?" His mother asked, meeting him at the door to the ballroom with Dorian behind her. "Were you visiting Toni? Where is she?" She paused, noticing that his clothes were a bit rumpled, as was his hair, and his cheeks were red. This was all from wanting to get back as soon as possible, but his mother didn't know that. "You know, if that's what you were doing, you don't have to say so. We all have our little secrets." She gave Adrian a hug and then she and Dorian exchanged chuckles and knowing looks, starting to walk back to the dance floor before Adrian put a restraining hand on his mother's arm.

"Someone is going to come and set the house on fire tonight," he said in a muted voice. "Tell everyone you can, so they can get out."

"What?" Selina stared at him and then laughed incredulously. "Did Lucifer put you up to such a joke? Props to your acting skills, son! Wouldn't it just be the perfect finale to a Gone With The Wind themed party to have the whole damn mansion burned down?" She grinned. "Who did he ask to stand up and say 'As God is my witness, I will never be hungry again?"

"No one!" Adrian shook his head. "Toni was working for a woman who's got a grudge against Lucifer and she wants him dead. She's taking advantage of the party to do that. She's gonna set the house on fire!"

"I think she's serious," Dorian told Selina. "Let's warn everyone to be on the lookout." He eyed Adrian. "What does the woman look like?"

"Well, I don't know," Adrian sighed. "Just keep an eye out for someone suspicious."

While they did that, Adrian warned his uncle Elijah and his dad, as well as Sybil and Amy.

"I hope Lisa is somewhere safe too," Adrian said. "Is she in the nursery?"

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "She's safe."

"Now, I haven't seen anyone yet, so let's try not to panic," Adrian told them. "Just tell people to be on their guard, but also enjoy the party as much as they can. I think that would be best."

"Right," Elijah agreed, and his father nodded.

"Of course," Klaus agreed. "No reason to interrupt a good party before it's absolutely necessary."

"I'm gonna go check on Christopher," Sybil decided. "See if he's all right."

When he felt confident that his warning about the Dragon had gotten around to enough people, he did his best to follow his own advice and enjoy the party until there was actually a problem. But just as he came out of the bathroom and toward the ballroom, Maeve grabbed his hand and urged him to come with her.

"What?" He asked. "Is it the Dragon? Is the house on fire?"

"No," Maeve grinned. "Ellie's finally lost her patience with her dress. She had a little wardrobe change and won't let Lucifer cover her up."

"Really?" Adrian chuckled,and when they reached the ballroom, he saw that Maeve was right. Everyone (except Selina, of course, because it didn't seem weird to her), was on the edge of the ballroom as Ellie danced in the middle, no longer in the violet gown she'd been wearing, but a much briefer white and purple shoulder-baring dress with a lace under layer and thigh-high lace stockings. Beside her was a white lace fan that matched the parasol she held.

"Feel better?" Selina asked as they danced, not caring about the spectacle they were making.

"Oh, sure," Ellie nodded and deftly danced away from Lucifer, who let out a growl of frustration as he shook a violet robe at her. "Eleanor, put this on! What has gotten into you? Have you lost your mind?"

"I don't think so," Ellie shook her head. "I feel pretty good right now. And wasn't that the point of all this?"

"She's got you there, Dad," Valerie said and began dancing too. "If you can't beat 'em, join em. You're not gonna win this one!"


	104. Ellie's Party: Part Two

While Valerie and Angelica danced with their mother, and Hannah talked with Sybil, Christopher took Vincent aside. It hadn't escaped his notice that his friend and Lauren hadn't even looked at each other all night.

"What's going on with the two of you?" He asked. "Things don't seem to be getting any better. I thought that once you had that...fling at the club, it would all be over, but it's not, is it?"

Vincent scoffed. "Don't look at me like I'm the one with the problem, all right? I've given Lauren plenty of chances to pick me. But she hasn't and now I just...I realize that the only way I'll get what I need is to get it elsewhere."

"Or you could both sit down and talk to each other," Christopher suggested. "I think that if you just told her what you need, she would understand."

"No, she wouldn't," Vincent shook his head. "She has become obsessed with Nick. There's no room for anything in her brain besides him!"

"Well, then maybe you should try and step up," Christopher told him.

"I've tried but she won't let me!" Vincent hissed. "I ask her to pay attention to something other than Nick, she says no. I ask if I can help with Nick, she says no. I can't win! Don't you get it?"

Just then, the woman that Vincent had danced with at the club appeared and strode over to them. She was wearing high heels and a backless red dress with a knee length skirt. "Hi!" She said. "I'm so glad you gave me the right address." She gave Vincent a kiss. "You'll be happy to know I'm a really good dancer. Where's the ballroom?"

"You invited the woman you cheated on your wife with to come here?" Christopher made a noise in his throat and narrowed his eyes at his friend. "What were you thinking?"

"Well, I was thinking that it would help things along with Lauren if she saw she had some competition," Vincent said. "Knowing she might lose me will make her appreciate me more."

"Oh, well if that's not the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" Christopher told him. "That's not how it's gonna work. She's gonna find out you cheated and that you're not sorry about it, and then you know what she'll do? She'll take Nick and leave!"

"Leave to go where?" Vincent asked. "Where's she gonna go when she's got no family?"

"Didn't you say she had a sister?" Christopher questioned. "She could go stay with her."

"No, she won't," Vincent said confidently. "Cause Toni hates me, and hates demons so there's no way she'll let Lauren live with her cause she's been tainted by me! She's gonna have to stay here!"

"I have a question," Christopher said. "Do you want to get back together with Lauren or not?"

"Yeah!" Vincent nodded. "Of course!"

"Well, this is not the way to do it!" Christopher said. Then he tapped the woman, who was walking ahead of them, on the shoulder. "Hey? You and I need to talk."

"Okay," she said. "Why?"

"Because he will _not_ be dancing with you," Christopher told her patiently, gesturing at Vincent. "He's married, see. And he and his wife just had a kid. They're going through a difficult transition period. You being here's not helping. So do us all a favor, leave, and don't come back."

But the woman was a demon and not so easily intimidated. "Oh, I don't think so," she said and kept walking. "If he's unhappy, he has the right to do something about it. He chose me, and I'm _not_ just gonna leave!"

"Well, shit!" Christopher told Vincent. "I hope you're happy!"

"I am!" Vincent nodded. "I hope she runs into Lauren!"

Sure enough, it didn't take long for them to find Lauren and the other woman having a chat, and Lauren did _not_ look happy.

"Here you are!" Hannah said, suddenly appearing behind Christopher and Vincent and kissing Christopher's neck. "I've been looking for you. Wanna dance and have a drink or something?"

"You know I would love to," Christopher told her after giving her a kiss back. "But I can't now." He gestured at Vincent. "Genius here is fighting with Lauren, had a fling, and then stupidly invited the woman here. Now she and Lauren are talking and Lauren doesn't look happy about it."

They both winced as an angry Lauren punched the other woman in the face. "See?" Christopher told Vincent. "See what you did?"

"Yeah," Vincent nodded, a grin on his face. "That just shows how much she still cares. I am really turned on right now!"

Hannah and Christopher just sighed and gave one another a look, stepping back as Lauren left the woman on the floor and approached Vincent.

"Hey, babe," he said. "What do you say you and I go somewhere quiet and have some alone time?"

"You cheated on me!" Lauren cried. "Do you not get that? Do you realize how that makes me feel?"

"Well, you had to realize that I would do something like that if you didn't pay attention to me!" Vincent spat back. "Why is it that you think you can just ignore me and expect me to be okay with it, yet when I ignore you, _then_ it's a problem? I would understand your anger if I refused to help with Nick at all, but I haven't. I have _tried_ to shove my libido aside and be the parent you think I should be. I can do that, but you need to give me something to do! If you want me to parent, you should let me parent! Even if it's not the way you would do it. No matter how I do it, it wouldn't end up with Nick getting hurt."

Lauren sighed. "I suppose...I suppose you have a point," she admitted. "I suppose I could do a better job of trusting you with our son. And maybe leaving him with your mom for a bit every once in a while. I trust her."

"See?" Hannah said. "This is good! You're talking! Now say you're sorry and kiss!"

"I'm sorry," Vincent said immediately. But Lauren just shook her head. "Good," she told him in a muted voice. "I hope you are." She paused. "I'm gonna go get some rest since Nick is being looked after. Goodnight, everyone."

She then strode away and Christopher said, "I hope you learned a thing or two about the problems with thinking with your dick instead of your brain."

"I don't know why you're still so negative," Vincent remarked. "We made steps forward. She sort of trusts me now. She admitted she was wrong."

"I don't know if she trusts you," Hannah shook her head at her nephew. Sometimes, he was just so much like his father, so clueless, that it was maddening. "You gonna go after her or not?"

"She said she was taking a nap, so what's the point?" Vincent shrugged.

"Okay, that's it," Christopher told him. "I've had enough. Hannah, you wanna go dance?"

"Yes, I do," Hannah nodded, taking his hand. "Thank you for asking." They then left Vincent still thinking that Lauren would talk to him when he came up to their room and tried to join her in bed that night.

* * *

"I think you owe me a dance," Lee told Angelica. He figured it was as good of a time as any to ask since she was sitting at the side of the room and massaging her cramped toes.

"No, I don't," Angelica shook her head and put her shoes back on. "If Dad told you that, it won't happen. I'm not really inclined to do anything he says that involves you, as you can probably tell from when I pushed you in here. Can't you take a hint?"

"Hey, I have things I'd much rather be doing now too, but can't you see your father having his eye on us?" Lee pointed out. Lucifer was indeed watching them. "So let's just do one dance and then we can both move on to doing other things. That's not unreasonable, is it?"

"You mean...you mean you _don't_ want to spend the whole night hitting on me?" Angelica asked in surprise.

"No, not really," Lee shook his head. "I mean, not that you're not beautiful, but...I have something around here that I need to find..."

"What is it?" Angelica asked. "Are you trying to rob us? Are you up to no good? Cause you already know I can kick your butt if I want to."

"Children," Lucifer interrupted them. "Why don't you go and dance? Music's good."

"Actually," Angelica gave her father a syrupy grin. "We were about to do just that." Lee was right. Best to just get this over with. "Come on, you," she told him and pulled him onto the dance floor.

To her surprise, he was a very adept dancer. He was graceful and didn't stomp on her toes, which she couldn't say about everyone she'd danced with. She caught her father's eye over Lee's shoulder at one point. He was grinning. He looked smug. She would have been mad about it if she had no idea that Lee was not on the same page as him when it came to this arrangement.

When the dance was over, he escorted her back to where she'd been sitting and even got her a drink. "That actually wasn't so bad," she remarked. "You're a very good dancer. Now are you sure I can't help you find what you need?"

"No, thanks," Lee shook his head. "And thanks for the compliment. You're not so bad yourself." He stepped away from Angelica and made his way toward the ballroom exit, but of course Lucifer stopped him.

"You're only doing one dance?" He asked. "Why? What's wrong? Is my daughter not good enough for you?"

"Oh, no sir, she's lovely," Lee told him. "I just...I have other things on my mind tonight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other things to do. Other important things." He then sped off, leaving Lucifer speechless.

Feeling relieved to be done with his obligations toward Angelica, Lee made his way back to the room by the nursery that he'd been ransacking in search of evidence that would clear up something he'd wondered for years: Was Lucifer his father? His mother had never said, but from what he remembered, they'd been close once and he _had_ lived as a third member of their family for many years. It was not impossible. But where was the proof?

After emptying all the drawers, he began pulling books out of the bookshelf, looking in them, and when they contained no pictures or letters, throwing them on the floor.

Finally, after he'd emptied a few shelves, something finally fell out of a book (Murasaki Shikibu's _Tale of Genji,_ no less). He picked it up and gasped. It was a photo of Lucifer with his mother. She seemed...seemed much rounder than usual, and when he looked at the date on the back, he realized that she could be pregnant...and since he was the only child she'd ever had, Lucifer _had_ to be his father! There was no way around it!

Grinning because he finally had the evidence he needed to confront the man who'd abandoned him and his mother so many years before, he shut the book, put it back on the shelf, and strode out of the room. But his feeling of victory evaporated when the annoying little red headed girl showed up. He thought he'd scared her off.

"What's that?" She asked him and grabbed for the picture. "Lemme see it!"

"No!" He said and held it away from her. "This is mine. Go away!"

"What is it?" Lisa asked again.

He tried to ignore her, but she just followed him. Then, suddenly, the picture was gone from his hand.

"It's a picture!" She cried, holding it in her hand.

"Give it back," he said. "Don't you rip or smudge it or anything."

"Why?" Lisa questioned.

"None of your business why!" Lee snapped. "Just give it!"

Lisa grinned and held it away from him. "Say please!"

"Damn you!" He hissed and tried to get it, but every time he went to grab for the photo, it just flew further and further away from him. "Give it to me!"

"Say _please!"_ Lisa insisted.

"Fine," Lee said through his teeth. "Please give me the photo."

"Okay!" Lisa said and let it fall to the floor so he could pick it up. "Thank you for being polite!"

He started to walk away but she followed him.

"Go in the nursery where you belong!" He snapped.

"No!" Lisa shook her head and tried to reach for his hand. "The baby is loud and I hate it!"

"Well, you'll just have to deal with that because you aren't coming with me," he said, and with a flick of his wrist, a loudly protesting Lisa was hoisted into the air and flew back into the nursery with the door shutting behind her.

"It is about time," he said. Then he steeled himself and strode the rest of the way to the ballroom, where he found Lucifer drinking alone in a corner.

"You care to explain this picture, Father?" Lee spat, which made Lucifer spit his beer out all over the picture.

"What did you just call me?" Lucifer questioned after he finished choking. "You...I think you're mistaken!"

"No, I'm not!" Lee told him resolutely. "You fathered me! Mother's clearly pregnant in this picture, and since you're the man with her, who else could my father be?"

"Well, I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, but one photo doesn't prove anything," Lucifer protested. "Your mother could have just been retaining water. Now, I understand better than anyone what can happen when you're a young man who doesn't have a reliable father figure in his life, but I am almost entirely certain that I am not the man you're looking for."

" _Almost_ certain!" Lee said. "So you could be!"

"I could, but I'm careful," Lucifer told him. "I took careful steps to make sure I didn't have any domestic entanglements that would interfere with my life," Lucifer said.

Then he breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed Ellie nearby. "Eleanor, come here and tell this young man that my children with you are the first I've ever fathered."

"Why would I need to tell him that?" Ellie asked.

"Because he seems to think that _He's_ my oldest and not Valerie and Vincent," Lucifer told her. "It's preposterous, of course."

"Do you really think Lucifer is your father?" Ellie asked Lee.

"Yes," Lee nodded. "Yes, I do."

Lucifer then waited with bated breath to hear Ellie's response. He knew what it would be and he didn't want to hear it. But to his surprise, Ellie just frowned deeper and gave Lee a good hard punch in the nose that sent him falling to the floor. The music had stopped. Everyone was staring now.

"How dare you come here and confront him with this?" She yelled. "You're a grown man! You've gotten through your life up to this point without a father. Why do you have to show up and ruin our lives now? Why don't you just go back to where you came from and leave us alone? I'm sorry you don't have a father, but that is not our problem!"

"Eleanor, I'm so touched that you're sticking up for me!" Lucifer grinned. "So touched. I thought this confrontation would go in an entirely different direction."

"Oh, don't think I'm done with you yet," Ellie told him, eyes narrowed as she grabbed his hand and pulled him away to a more private area, squeezing his hand so hard that he was sure his fingers were broken. "You still have some explaining to do. Cause I did _not_ give myself up to be Queen of Hell knowing that there would be competition popping right and left out of the woodwork."

* * *

"You _lied_ to me!" Ellie continued to yell at Lucifer after they locked themselves in a nearby room. "When were you gonna tell me that that guy was your son? That you had children with another woman? _Never_?" She'd lightened up to say 'Hello' to anyone they ran into but now, in private, she was clearly intent on remaining angry.

"Well, I had no idea that he was!" Lucifer defended himself. "Until now, I truly thought that you were the first woman to ever give me children. I would never deliberately deceive you about that. And besides, we don't know for sure if I'm his father. He just thinks so based on one photograph, and that's not real proof of anything!"

"Yeah, right!" Ellie scoffed. "He wouldn't be dumb enough to come here and make such claims if he wasn't positive he could back them up! I wonder how many _more_ like him you've got lying around!" Then she made a face. "I really wish I could drink. I could use a fucking drink right now. Or at lot of them!"

"You know you shouldn't drink," Lucifer chided as Ellie hissed at him, her eyes going black, her fangs bared. He tried to embrace her, or even just run a hand through her hair, but she wouldn't have it.

"Don't you touch me!" She cried. "Don't you _dare!"_

"Fine," Lucifer stepped back. "Okay." He then breathed a sigh of relief as Junior poked his head through the now open door. He'd probably found them by following the yelling.

"Maeve and I are leaving," he informed him. "Her water just broke and I need to get her to the hospital."

"Well, congratulations to both of you," Lucifer smiled. Then he nudged Ellie. "Did you hear that, Eleanor? Maeve is in labor!"

"Oh, joy!" Ellie scoffed. "My father is gonna have daughters that he'll pay more attention to then me. Men suck! You all suck!" Then she paused, a grin spreading over her face. "I know how to make myself feel better about all this." She made a bat appear in her hands and then strode away in search of Lee. "I don't usually advocate violence," Junior and Lucifer heard her say. "But this time, I think it'll do me some good."

"What's going on with her?" Junior asked.

"Hormones are definitely acting up," Lucifer replied. "You don't have anything on you that could calm her down, would you? Or at the very least any advice on how to make her more pleasant?"

"No," Junior shook his head. "Or at least not anything I'm certain will work. I'm sorry to say that the only thing I can tell you is to let this run its course. What's she so angry for anyway?"

"The son of a woman I was with a long time ago claims I'm his father, which is upsetting to Eleanor because I previously told her that she was the only woman I've ever had children with."

"And you told her this when you thought that was correct based on the information you had?" Junior questioned.

"Naturally," Lucifer nodded. "What would I gain by lying?"

"Good point," Junior conceded. "And good luck getting through this. I wish I could stay and help you, but I'm about to be a father again!"

Lucifer sighed and watched him go, then hurried to the ballroom where Ellie had Lee pinned to the ground and was hitting him with the bat. But luckily, she only got every other whack to make contact.

"Mom, give me the bat," Angelica urged. "Please. Then we can go outside and get some air, okay?"

"Or you could give _me_ the bat and I'll keep on beating him up for you while you go get some air," Valerie offered with a grin.

"No!" Dexter frowned at her. "That's not helpful!"

"Here," Ellie gave Valerie the bat as Dexter shook his head and tried to take it. "Thanks for the help. I think I _will_ go get some air!" She then made her way out of the ballroom after a stern warning to Lucifer not to follow her. She wanted to get as far away from the party as possible, and because of that, picked an exit that was far away. She stepped out, and saw a woman with pale skin, dark hair, and dark eyes turn to face her.

"Sorry if I disturbed you," she said. "I just came out for some air. Nice night, isn't it?" She smiled but the woman didn't smile back. Instead, she hit Ellie on the head, not hard enough to knock her out, but hard enough so that she could grab her and hold her in a grip that was like Iron.

"Keep your hands off my son," she hissed and then stroked Ellie's stomach with the flat side of a large, sharp knife that shown clearly under the nearby light. "Cause it would be a shame if something happened to you and yours."

"So you're gonna kill me?" Ellie got out.

"No, but I _could_ if I wanted to," The Dragon replied. "Very easily. I want you to remember that."


	105. Old Flames and New Ones

When Ellie didn't come back in a timely manner from getting air, Lucifer began to get worried.

"I hope she hasn't run off," He said. "Someone should probably go and look for her. Maybe I should..."

"I don't think it should be you," Dexter told him. "But I'm glad you want to. I'll go and look for her. And I'll get Adrian to come with me."

"All right," Lucifer nodded. "Thank you, Dexter."

"Of course," Dexter nodded. He went to get Adrian and they began running all over the house, calling Ellie's name until finally, they heard a terrible scream and reached the door Ellie had exited from, gasping as the Dragon entered with a torch in each hand and one of her goons carrying Ellie, who was gagged and tied, a bloody wound just above the bump in her stomach.

"Are you all right, Miss Ellie?" Dexter asked.

Ellie nodded her head.

"Oh, she's all right, if a little bloody," The Dragon told them. "And it's really your fault that she's hurt. You couldn't find her, but the scream finally brought you to the right place."

"What do you want?" Adrian asked, trying to stay calm, and reaching into his pocket to get his phone and call Toni. "Tell us what you want and then give us Ellie. Don't hurt her anymore."

"Well, that can be arranged if you'll lead me to your boss," The woman replied. "Do that, wait until we finish talking, and I'll give you the girl. She'll be of no use to me anymore after that."

"Fine," Adrian told her. "Just let me look for him."

"All right," the Dragon agreed. "We'll be waiting here until I see him."

That in place, Adrian strode away and quickly called Toni.

"What?" She asked. "I told you I'm not coming to the party. The Dragon is gonna set the whole damn place on fire!"

"And that's what she's just about to do if she's a crazy Asian woman with a creepy smile, a bunch of bloodlust, and tons of goons!" Adrian said. "Get down here and see if you can do anything!"

Toni heard this and her heart sank. When she'd stayed home tonight, she was thinking only of herself and not of her sister and little nephew, who were presumably in the house that was about to be burned to a crisp. She had to go. She had to do what she could to save them.

"I'm coming," she said. "It won't be long."

"Thanks," Adrian told her. "I appreciate it."

* * *

She breathed a sigh of relief when she arrived at Lucifer's and found that it wasn't ablaze. But she didn't know how long that luck would hold out, so she did her usual thing of getting in the house through the window, and then when her feet touched the ground, she ran from room to room, calling her sister's name.

Finally, Lauren appeared, clutching Nicholas to her chest. "So glad to see you!" She said. "I'd give you a hug, Toni, but my hands are full! Can I...can Nick and I come stay with you and Adrian? I know it's a lot to ask, but Vincent and I are fighting and I just...I can't be around him now."

"Oh, no problem!" Toni assured her. "Come to my car with me! I came to get you out of here anyway. Adrian says that any second, the crazy lady I semi work for is gonna set the house on fire cause she wants to end Lucifer."

"What?" Lauren asked. "Why would you work for someone like that?"

"I was desperate," Toni replied and sneaked her sister out of the house. "When you really need money, you do anything you can to get it. Don't worry, though. It's not something I'm proud of."

After they got everything they could into Toni's car and made sure the baby was strapped in, Toni wrote down Adrian's address and told Lauren to go there and wait.

"You're gonna be back eventually, right?" Lauren asked as she started the car.

"I hope so," Toni replied. "That's all I can tell you now. And since you and Vincent are fighting, can I assume you don't want me to tell him where you've gone?"

"No," Lauren shook her head. "At least not right away. Let him worry a lot first. He deserves that."

"All right," Toni promised. "I won't say a word." She watched her sister disappear down the driveway and then headed into the house, eventually finding the Dragon. "Let her go!" She called. "You have to stop this!"

"Antonia," the older woman grinned. "So nice to see you! Do I get to witness you confessing your part in all this to those present? How you're as much a danger to them as I am?"

"Nice try!" Adrian told her and took Toni's hand."She already told me all about working for you and how she got into the mansion and all that. It's not a surprise!"

"Yeah, and I'm done working for you!" Toni added. "I'm done!"

"Fine," The Dragon said. "I don't need you anymore. Not when I'm so close to getting what I want. You're useless to me now." She paused and growled, slicing Ellie's arm with the knife. "Now, where's Lucifer?" She yelled at Adrian. "You promised me you would bring him to me in a timely manner!"

"Here he is," Dexter said, pushing a somewhat resistant Lucifer onto the balcony. "Now let Miss Ellie go!"

"Oh, Eleanor!" Lucifer cried as she was pushed into Dexter's arms, the gag removed as she began sobbing. He leaned down to comfort her. "Eleanor, are you-"

"Hey!" The Dragon shouted. "Is it just me, or are all of you terrible at realizing what the real problem is here?" She then made a sign at one of her men, who promptly went inside and began the blaze as Lucifer's people scattered, taking Ellie with them. They would have to go through the house to get to the cars in the back, but it could be done quickly.

"Damn!" Lucifer swore as he watched his things burn and hoped that people had enough sense to know where the exits were.

"That's right," The Dragon grinned. "You'll talk to me now."

"Oh, all right, Leiko!" He told her and went to join her on a bench. "Why have you come? What is it you want?"

"I have a few reasons why I've come. I assume that by now you've discovered one of them? Your son, Lee?"

"He's not my son," Lucifer insisted. "And any attempt to convince me otherwise is absolute nonsense."

"How can you be sure?" The Dragon responded. "We all know that you weren't above taking what you wanted when you wanted it and then discarding those who gave it to you when you were done." She then sliced his cheek with her knife. "Don't think I haven't forgotten that's how you ended things with me."

"I haven't forgotten," Lucifer assured her. "I made the mistake of keeping your picture. That's what Lee is using to make his preposterous claim about his paternity. Nothing of real substance."

"It doesn't matter whether it's true or not!" She replied. "It's what you owe me for treating me so callously. You _will_ make my son your heir!"

"And what will you do if I don't?" Lucifer asked. "It's gonna take more than a little anger to scare me. And you know you can't kill me. I'm immortal, remember? So you don't have a leg to stand on."

"I might not be able to do anything to _you_ ," The Dragon told him. "But I will not hesitate to hurt your loved ones. In fact, if I killed your wife, I would probably be doing her a favor. Save her from the heartache of being abandoned and giving birth to a child you don't want."

That was it. He'd had enough. He let out a growl, his eyes went red, and soon, using a skill he'd not needed to for a long time, he set the Dragon on fire. He then watched her burn, then threw her charred body from the balcony before running inside his now very fiery house to help people get out, while feeling very grateful that Eleanor was in Dexter's capable hands.

* * *

As smoke billowed around her and people screamed and ran for every exit to save themselves, Angelica locked herself in a bathroom. She knew she wouldn't be safe forever, but it would at least give her time to let Sammy know about the fire.

"Angie!" Sammy said in a cheerful voice when she identified herself. "How's the party?"

"Not good!" Angelica said as smoke sneaked under the door and made her cough. "Some psycho who has issues with my dad has taken my mother hostage and now the mansion is on fire! We could all be dead any minute!"

"From a fire?" Sammy asked. "I doubt it!" But he got her point. "Just hang on," he said. "I'll...I'll be there soon. You won't be alone much longer."

"Good," Angelica told him and coughed. "And hurry, please!"

Sammy listened and soon. thanks to magic, they were in the bathroom together before he took her by the hand and they did their best to find an exit. As they walked, Angelica realized Sammy was humming something.

"Are you seriously humming 'We Didn't Start The Fire?" She asked. "Now's not the time!"

"Sorry," he apologized. "But it's very apropos, isn't it?" He burst into laughter, which quickly turned into a yell as something heavy fell from the weakened walls and hit Sammy on the head, knocking him out.

Even though she knew she didn't have much time to spare, Angelica got down on her knees and tried to rouse him. "Sammy?" She cried. "Sammy, please don't be dead! This can't be happening! I love you too much. Please don't be dead!" She kissed him and shook him, but he remained still.

Cursing and coughing as the smoke filled her lungs, Angelica picked him up, put him over her shoulder, and then, zapped them both out of the house and into the yard.

When she could breathe again, Angelica lay a still unconscious Sammy on the grass. She hugged him close and cried, vowing that if he woke up, he was never going out of her sight again as she heard sirens blare as ambulances and fire trucks pulled up to the mansion. Then she heard a voice...one she had _thought_ she would hear, but wasn't sure.

"Angelica? What's going on here? Are you all right?" She turned around and found herself looking into the kind, concerned eyes of Dr. Smith.

"I think he's dead," she told him, her face wet with warm tears. "See, the flames are blue, so...so I don't think this is normal fire!"

"And even if it was, he'd still be susceptible to it," Her grandfather told her. "Let me have a look at him. See what the best course of action is. He isn't going to die now."

"No, damn it!" Angelica sobbed. "No, he's not!" She then watched as her grandfather put his hands on Sammy and soon, his beautiful blue eyes were open and Angelica was hugging him and kissing him while saying repeatedly, "I love you, I love you, I love you!"

"You...you saved me!" Sammy said to Dr. Smith in shock. "How can you save me since I'm a vampire and all? Isn't that wrong?"

"Not if you don't mean anyone harm," Dr. Smith told him. "Not if you're a good person, regardless of what species you are. Your having a good soul is all that matters to me."

"Well, thank you," Sammy told him as he ran his fingers through Angelica's hair. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome," Dr. Smith replied with a smile, then went to go check and see if anyone else needed a little pick me up.

* * *

Amy and Elijah debated for a long time about which one of them would go rescue Lisa. Finally, they decided to just trust in the demons who were minding the nursery and save themselves, something that Amy rued the second they were out on grass, watching the blaze.

"What if she doesn't get out?" She asked, resting her head on Elijah's shoulder. "She'll die and it'll be our fault!"

"She'll get out," Elijah assured her. Then they heard a crash and Amy shut her eyes and prayed. And when the demon watching the nursery appeared, she was alone and covered in cuts and bruises and soot.

"Where's Lisa?" Elijah asked her.

The reason why Lisa wasn't with her was because she'd been playing hide and seek at the time the fire started and had gotten trapped in the closet by the heat and smoke. The demon had tried for several minutes to make her way to the little girl, but it had just been too hot, and too difficult to breathe, so she'd finally decided to come out and save herself.

Fortunately, back in the mansion the little girl was resourceful. "Water," she whispered. And soon, the closet door was blasted open, and enough of the room was clear of flames that she got out of the closet. But she was still trapped in the room by the flames in the hallway,

"Help!" She called out the open door. "Help me, please!"

Then she felt herself get scooped up in some strong arms, being carried through the hallway and not at all damaged by the heat. When she saw Lee, she grinned. "Why?" She asked.

"You said please," he replied tersely.

"Okay," She smiled and settled into his grip. But to their dismay, their joy was short lived. When he attempted to get down the stairs to the second floor. he found that the top steps had been burned, leading both of them to tumble down the remaining stairs and land hard on the floor.

This made Lisa burst out crying because it hurt to fall down the stairs, but Lee quickly silenced her. "Shut up!" He snapped. "Sobbing will get us nowhere!" He picked her up again and they made their way to a door and out into the yard. But they ended up on the opposite side of the house from everyone else as, exhausted, they collapsed in the cold, wet grass.

Lee shut his eyes and tried to focus on making his own headache go away, as well as getting a good breathe in his lungs. His focus was broken by the feeling of someone touching his shoulder. He opened his eyes and found a man looking down at him.

"What?" He grumbled. "Go away."

"Well, I just wanted to ask if you required assistance," the blue eyed man said, his salt and pepper hair hanging in his eyes. "If not, we'll help the young lady near you."

"What young lady?" He asked and sat up. It was rare that he was shocked, but the sight of the naked young redhead next to him shocked him.

"What's happened to me?" She asked, covering herself up. "Why am I big now?"

"I-I-I-" he got out. "You...how...what?" He paused. "You're that annoying little girl!"

Her eyes narrowed. "My name is Lisa," she said and then accepted the blanket the man offered on his return, settling it around herself.

"Lee," he got out. "Lee Oshiro."

"I suppose I should thank you for getting me out," Lisa told him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he told her, then lay down on the grass wondering just how she'd gotten this way.

"Don't touch my ice cream!" Ellie snapped, one eye open as she caught Lucifer in the act of stealing her ice cream because she seemed to be asleep and couldn't defend it. "I mean, it's not like I actually have to have hospital food and all. I've made sure of that. Since I'm stuck here, I'm not having any luxury taken away from me!"

"Now Eleanor, it should be perfectly obvious to you why I insisted you stay overnight at the hospital for observation," Lucifer told her. "You've been through a terrible ordeal and I just want to make sure everything is all in one piece."

Ellie sat up and sighed, opening a container of grape juice. "I suppose that's smart," she said and squirmed uncomfortably. "Gosh, I hate hospital gowns. They make me feel so vulnerable and exposed!"

"And yet not too long ago, you were dancing in front of a whole crowd of people in the nineteenth-century equivalent of panties, so I don't see what the problem is," Lucifer remarked and made another attempt to steal her dessert.

"I'm sorry about losing my temper and hurting Lee," Ellie apologized.

"What about that?" Lucifer asked. "Did you temporarily lose your mind?"

"No," Ellie sighed. "It's just that...a few nights ago, I had a dream that you told me I was too fat and then went off to have a foursome with two redheaded women and a black guy in a suit. That...that made me feel bad enough. And then to hear that you might have had a kid with another woman, who, from the looks of things, was darker and more exciting than I am...I just...the old insecurities came back and...I got mad. I'm sorry."

"Well, I don't think it's me you need to apologize to," Lucifer told her. "And as favor number four, I've told him that he's unofficially adopted into our family since I killed his mother, and I don't think he has anyone else. He could use a good influence."

"Yeah, all right," Ellie nodded. "I suppose I wouldn't mind that. I can be a good influence most of the time."

"Thank you," Lucifer told her and kissed her.

"Do you think all our kids are all right?" Ellie questioned.

"I do," Lucifer nodded. "At least physically. Vincent's in a terrible panic, though. Apparently, he never found Lauren or Nicholas."

"Oh, my gosh!" Ellie gasped. "What if they're dead? This is terrible!"

"They aren't," Lucifer shook his head. "They're at Adrian's with Lauren's sister. But we've been instructed not to say anything about it until further notice."

"I would say that's cruel," Ellie sighed. "But I'm sure that whatever reason Lauren has for hiding from him, it's a good one. I'm not gonna get involved."

They kissed one last time and then, when a nurse came and announced he had to leave, he reluctantly got up and headed to the door. "Take care of yourself, Eleanor," he told her with a smile. "And be good for the nurses." He chuckled. "You know, I just might steal a uniform on my way out for...fun purposes. What size do you wear?"

"Good night, Lucifer," Ellie grinned.

"Goodnight, my love," he told her, then shut the door and left Ellie alone with her dinner.

* * *

After he left Ellie, he realized he had one more stop to make. He called Junior and had to converse with him over Maeve's cries of pain.

"Yes, she's still in labor," Junior cried. "We're gonna wheel her into surgery in a little while if you want to join us."

"Surgery?" Lucifer asked. "But why?"

"Because Maeve's become disenchanted with the whole labor process," Junior replied. "Especially when I told her it could last for a day or more. She wants it done as quickly as possible."

"Isn't that funny?" Lucifer chuckled. "She used to revel in causing others pain and now she's struggling with it herself. Listen, there was a fire at our house and I convinced your daughter to stay overnight once we got away from it. She's fine, but I'm sure if you wanted to see her while I stayed with Maeve, no one would refuse you."

"That sounds wonderful," Junior told her. "Tell me where you are and I'll meet you."

They found each other soon after and gave directions to Ellie and Maeve's rooms. But Lucifer wasn't in Maeve's room long before he was walking alongside her as she was wheeled off to her C-section.

"Don't tell me you're gonna get me through this," Maeve grumbled, even as he grinned at her. "I want Sean to be with me!"

"Oh, he will be!" Lucifer assured her. "I'm just taking his place while he visits his pregnant daughter, who just escaped a terrible fire with her life."

"The house is on fire?" Maeve's eyes widened, her labor pains forgotten. "How did that happen? Are you okay?"

""You remember Leiko Oshiro?" Lucifer sighed.

"The Japanese demon lady you dated that liked to play with knives?" Maeve made a face. "I told you to be more careful with her. How bad did she hurt you this time?"

"It wasn't me!" Lucifer scoffed. "I got out of it all right, physically. She hurt Eleanor, though. And tried to convince me that her son was mine when he is in fact not. But I've adopted him, so now he kind of is."

"You can't get through one day without some kind of trouble, can you?" Maeve asked reaching for his hand and grinning at him. "You would be so dead without Dexter and me."

"Yeah," Lucifer sighed. "I would."

They waited until Junior returned before beginning the surgery. Junior was very surprised that Lucifer looked the whole time, but then was reminded that the twins had been delivered this way and he'd watched for that."

"Oh, Junior nodded. "Right."

In the space of three minutes, first Alexandra, then Emma, were born.

"Look," Junior told Maeve, holding up Alexandra for her to see. "We have babies. We're parents! They have your lovely dark hair!"

"I knew they would!" Maeve chuckled. "You owe me five dollars!"

"You bet her on this?" Lucifer asked.

"Well, I just wanted to show him that he doesn't know everything," Maeve grinned.

Lucifer shook his head. Even cut open, she still was lively as ever. Typical Maeve. "Well," he said, "Congratulations on your lovely daughters. I'll get out of the way and let you handle all the family bonding."

"Thanks," Junior told him. "And...thanks for getting Ellie here. Thanks for making sure she was okay."

"Of course," Lucifer nodded. "I wouldn't have done anything else."

He then left the hospital, getting messages from his kids about where they were spending the night, and then pulled into a hotel, got a room, and after taking a soak, ordered room service.


	106. Those Three Little Words

After Sammy was brought to life and Angelica was sure it was permanent, they spent the night in one of the rooms on the upper floor of the bar, then in the morning, she said, "Let's get out of here! We can go to your apartment!"

"No, we can't," he shook his head and then kissed her soundly, his hands coming up to cup her breasts.

"Why not?" Angelica breathed and pulled at her skirt.

"My parents' house is closer," Sammy smiled. "And I assume you want the nearest bed?"

"All right," Angelica nodded. "Works for me!"

So they zapped themselves to Sam and Leslie's and collapsed on the sofa, breathing in the clean air.

"I never thought I would be so happy to breathe!" Sammy said.

Then Angelica tapped him. "A little help, please. if we're gonna get naked?" She asked. "I'm really tied up tight! I'm amazed I made it through the night dressed like this. My neck is so stiff from sleeping in that chair!"

"Okay, I'll do my best to get you out, but I don't know a lot about how to undo this whole thing," Sammy remarked as he looked at her dress.

"Fine, we'll do that later," Angelica grinned. "We can just kiss for now."

They were still making out on the sofa when his parents came home and found Sammy in his boxers and Angelica still in her sooty gown.

"Oh, thank goodness you made it out of the fire!" Leslie cried. They broke apart and stared at her.

"I told you they weren't dead," Sam whispered. "I said that as soon as we got the phone call. Can't you see they're trying to savor being alive? Maybe we shouldn't interrupt them!"

"That's okay, we'll go to my room," Sammy told his father. "But first...did Grandpa ever tell you a thing or two about the fastest way to undo a corset?"

"No," Sam shook his head, even though his blue eyes were twinkling. "You'll have to ask him. Give him a call. You know his number, right?"

"Yeah," Sammy nodded. "He and Annie are in town this week, right? Or was this the week that they, Uncle Stefan, and Samantha were going out of town to that wine tasting thing?"

"No, I think that's next week," Sam assured him. "And even if they weren't home, all would not be lost. Mom knows a thing or two about removing corsets too."

"Oh, but she'll want details!" Sammy pointed out. "That's why I don't talk to her about stuff like that."

"Good point," Sam nodded. "I totally understand. Good luck."

They got up to his room and then Angelica said, "You know, it would be quicker just to use magic to get it off. We can do that, right?"

"We could," Sammy agreed. "But what fun would that be? Plus, it might damage it or something and this could be one of Grandma's most cherished pieces of clothing!"

"I don't know," Angelica said doubtfully. "From what my dad's said, she hated her human life and wanted to forget it."

"Gosh, it so weird that your dad knows the creepy side of my grandma a lot better than I do," Sammy shuddered. Then he picked up his phone and called his grandfather.

"Sammy!" Damon Salvatore exclaimed when he heard his grandson's voice. "I hoped you'd call after you got back from your trip! How did it go?"

"Great!" Sammy replied. "I got my stuff out to a few people and they told me that I have a promising future in songwriting!"

"That's great!" Damon told him. "Also, I wanted to ask if you and Angelica wanted to come to the wine tasting with us all. Or would that be too weird? Are you not at the point where you're comfortable doing things in public? If the relationship hasn't moved beyond the bedroom yet, I completely understand. I had to be stealthy with your grandma Selina, even after we got engaged, so-"

"-Speaking of," Sammy cut him off. "Speaking of, what's the quickest way to get a woman out of a corset? We just came from this Gone With the Wind themed ball her dad threw and it should suffice to say I have no idea how to get her out of her dress."

"You just have to do a lot of unbuttoning and untying," Damon told him. "It's kind of hard. The damn buttons are so tiny."

It took some time, but finally, between Damon and Selina, Sammy finally got the info he needed to successfully get Angelica out of her dress. He thanked them, told Damon he and Angelica would be glad to go to the wine tasting, and then hung up.

"Well, that took much longer than I thought it would," Angelica sighed, and fell back onto the mattress. It felt so great to be naked and not covered in layers of clothing. No wonder Mom had stripped down and danced like a crazy in front of everyone.

"Yeah, I know," Sammy told her and took her in his arms, kissing her soundly. "I didn't mean to get everyone involved in our business."

"Well, what other choice did you have?" Angelica asked when they pulled apart. Then she grinned. "I have something I have to show you," she said. "I got it as a surprise for you when you were gone."

"Oh, what is it?" Sammy asked excitedly. He thought she was gonna give him cufflinks or a tie or something but instead, she stood up and turned so that she was facing away from him and he got a good view of her bare bottom, which had something on it that he hadn't seen before. "Is that a tattoo of my name on your ass?" He asked her.

"Yeah," Angelica turned around and grinned. "Valerie got one of Dexter's name and I thought, 'What the hell? It can be our little secret'!"

"That it so hot!" Sammy told her as his breathing picked up and he felt himself get hard. "In light of this new information, might I suggest we try something a little different?"

"Oh, I wonder what?" Angelica grinned. And soon, she was on her stomach and he was entering her from behind as his hands roamed over her back and, he gently kissed her shoulders, unable to take his eyes off the tattoo, and thinking how it would always be there, no matter how ladylike she dressed, a little bit of rebellion done just for him.

Finally, they changed positions and lay next to each other on their backs. "I want you to know," Sammy told her, "that since your house burned down and all, you can stay with me until it gets fixed up if you want."

"I would love to," Angelica got out. "I would have brought it up myself but I didn't want to seem pushy."

"Are you kidding me?" Sammy asked and kissed her. "I've been waiting for the right excuse to get you in my house for ages! This was like some sort of blessing!" He paused. "Unless you think it'll cause trouble between you and your dad. Cause I don't want to do that."

But a call soon after settled the matter.

"Angelica?" Lucifer said. "I assume you're all right?"

"Yes," Angelica assured him. "Sorry I didn't call sooner. It was just so crazy and all. Is Mom all right?"

"Yep," Lucifer assured her. "Got her to the hospital to look things over and your little brother made it through just fine and so did she. Wasn't too happy about me making her be kept for observation, though."

"It's good everything worked out," Angelica said. "What's the plan now? Are you going to rebuild the mansion?"

"Naturally," Lucifer agreed. "But it might take some time. I'll need it rebuilt with stuff strong enough so that this sort of thing won't happen again. We'll be moving somewhere else for the time being."

"Can I...can I stay with Sammy at his apartment?" Angelica asked. "He already told me I could. And it would be one less thing for you to worry about."

"Of course," Lucifer told her. "I sensed this would be coming. And I'm guessing he's the one who got you out of the mansion when it burned?"

"Actually, he got whacked in the head by something that fell off one of the walls and I got _him_ out, but yeah, we were together at the time," Angelica confirmed. She didn't say anything about her grandfather visiting again.

"Well I suppose I owe him a debt of gratitude for looking out for you," Lucifer told her. "So you may stay with him. Just make sure you call every once in a while."

"Thanks," Angelica told him. "I will, I promise."

She ended the call and then found Sammy grinning at her. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing," he shrugged. "I'm just surprised and happy with how fast we're moving along now. I mean, you're living with me, and last night you told me you loved me..."

"You heard that?" Angelica blushed. "I thought you were unconscious!"

"I was," Sammy nodded. "But just as your grandfather brought me back, I heard you say it." He paused and smiled, taking her hand. "I'm glad you did because now I assume I can finally say 'I love you' back without it causing any sort of problem?"

"You can," Angelica smiled back. "Please do."

"Just a minute," he told her. And just as he'd done before their first time, he dimmed the lights and turned some soft music on, (jazz this time), and as they swayed back and forth, he whispered in her ear, his lips against her earlobe, "I love you, Angie. So much. I hope you don't ever forget that. I know I won't forget that you said it to me first."

Then when he pulled away, she gave him a long look, as if he were something immeasurably precious to her, which he was. "I won't," she promised, taking his face in her hands and kissing him. "After all we've been through, how could I?"

* * *

While the mansion was being fixed, the Morningstar clan (minus Angelica, who was staying with Sammy, of course) took up residence in one of Lucifer's other houses that was slightly smaller (but no less grand) a couple of hours away. They had just finished unpacking when they were interrupted by Adrian, who presented his grandson to them. "Anyone in the mood for visitors?" He asked.

"Can we talk in your room?" Junior questioned Ellie.

"All right," Ellie sighed. They walked to Ellie and Lucifer's bedroom and shut the door. "So what brings you here?" She asked after boosting herself onto the bed. "Don't you have little girls you should be looking after?"

"I do, and I will, but...I want to know how you feel about all this," Junior said. "Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, why would I want to?" Ellie shook her head. "You have your own neat, planned for family now, just like Mom does with Josh and Hannah, and here I am, the accident who doesn't really fit anywhere. So what does it matter what I feel?"

"Of course it matters!" Junior told her and put his arms around her. "I know it's weird for me to be the one to tell you this, but just because you weren't planned doesn't mean you weren't wanted!"

" _You_ didn't want me," Ellie pointed out. "And think of all Mom could have accomplished without me."

"She's accomplishing it now," Junior told her. "She's still getting to go to college. She just had to wait a bit. And in the angry letters she would write me, she would tell me that no matter how tough her days were at the gym, the best part of it was coming home after and taking care of you because you were so loving and cuddly. You made a hard day easier for her."

"But again, she wouldn't have had to wait or have hard days if not for me," Ellie sighed. "I just ruin everyone's lives. Why do you think I don't visit home very often anymore? She could have reached her full potential just like you did!"

Junior sighed and kissed Ellie's hair. "I did reach my full potential after I left you and your mother," he agreed. "I got everything I thought I wanted. But I missed out on stuff too. A lot of stuff. And even though I'm getting this second chance with your sisters, it in no way replaces what I missed out on with you. I'm never gonna be able to make up for that."

"Well, not for what happened in the past, but you're trying now, so that's something," Ellie replied. "Thanks for coming to see me."

"You're welcome," Junior told her. "There was no way I was going through this _without_ seeing you."

Ellie thought the next words out of his mouth would be about his beautiful new daughters (and she wouldn't have blamed him if they were), but instead he said, "Are you all right physically? I know you seemed fine when I saw you at the hospital, but sometimes things happen after..."

"No, nothing did," Ellie shook her head. "Thank goodness. You have another grandson coming. I think I'm gonna name him Noah."

"And do you think Lucifer will go for that?" Junior asked.

"Well, no, he's gonna fuss," Ellie smiled. "But I figure, he got to name two of our kids without consulting me so I should get to name two. Plus, he's got this idea in his head that the son of one of his old girlfriends should be adopted into our family and that's what he used the favor for."

"And how do you feel about that?" Junior asked. "Good? Bad?"

"Well, first. I'm not sure if the guy is even gonna go for it, so I'm not totally mad yet," Ellie said, eyes narrowing. "But I can't help but be a bit ticked off that the son of a woman who had no qualms about _murdering_ me might live here!"

"Then say something!" Junior told her. "Tell him that makes you uncomfortable, whether he called a favor out for it or not! I assume the two of you have a good enough relationship that you can actually talk to him about stuff."

"Well, this will test that, won't it?" Ellie remarked. "I mean, as far as challenging stuff he's already made up his mind about doing, anyway."

"Yeah," Junior nodded and gave her a hug. "Good luck. Anything else you want to tell me? Any more feelings you want to get out?"

"No, I'm good," Ellie told him. "At least where you're concerned anyway. I might talk to Mom about the same stuff."

"You should," Junior told her. "I think it would be good for you and you know she won't be mad at you for it." He paused. "I'll be on my way then."

Ellie nodded. "And I'll be along eventually to see the girls. What are their names again?"

"Alexandra and Emma," Junior replied. "And it would be nice for you to meet them. But don't feel you have to rush. You can come on your own time. I know this is an adjustment."

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "You wouldn't think it would be since you and I have only been close for a little bit, but it kind of is." She paused. "But...but the girls are really lucky to have you now. You've really gotten better. You've become a good man."

Junior paused at the door and smiled. "What did I do to deserve such a good daughter?" He asked.

"You're just real damn lucky, I guess," Ellie grinned widely.

"Yeah," Junior agreed. "I really am."

* * *

"How was the move?" Toni asked Adrian. "Was it difficult? Did anything get lost? Did you have to hear a bunch of complaining?"

"No," Adrian sighed. "Luckily enough, everything was smooth as silk!" He gave her a kiss and a hug then. "How about you? Nice not to have look over your shoulder for the Dragon Lady every five minutes?"

"Oh, you better believe it!" Toni concurred.

Then Adrian pulled her close to him. "You know, "I've missed you all day," he said. "Being around all those people...it's nice to finally have some peace and quiet." He then moved his head forward so his top lip touched Toni's bottom lip and soon, they were kissing wildly and pulling at each other's clothes. Then, just when Adrian had unzipped his pants, helped Toni off with hers, and had braced her against the wall, he heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. He groaned openly and Toni opened her eyes to find her blushing sister standing there and holding Nick.

"Sorry," Lauren apologized. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just coming to get a bottle for..."

"Yeah, go!" Adrian huffed. "We don't need an explanation!"

"That's a bit harsh!" Toni remonstrated. "I thought you were getting better about children!"

"I am...but not when I'm being interrupted!" Adrian huffed. "I thought that would be obvious!"

"So you're _not_ okay with her staying here?" Toni asked.

Adrian sighed. He'd seen what had gone on with Lauren and Vincent and he just...after that, he couldn't say 'No'. "They can stay for a bit," he said. "It's fine with me. I'll just have to get used to it."

Toni nodded. "And I know what a big sacrifice this is for you so...I'll make sure it doesn't get out of control. Anything to do with it, including stupid Vincent showing up, is something I will deal with. You don't have to, since they're _my_ family."

"All right,"Adrian nodded. "Deal." Then he picked her up again and carried her to his bedroom. They then fell back on the mattress and he began nibbling on her neck and giving her a good rub as she moaned and laughed. Then he pulled her to him, kissing her shoulder and sucking gently on one nipple, then the other. But just as he entered her, the downstairs doorbell rang, and that was followed by a knock on the door.

"I heard the bell," Toni called. "Remember what I said about not answering it."

"I remember!" Lauren assured her. "That's why I'm telling you now. Again, sorry if I'm interrupting anything!"

Adrian sighed as Toni got out of bed and put a robe on. "Sorry," she said. "I just...I knew Vincent would show up sooner rather than later and I don't want her to have to deal with him yet."

"I understand," Adrian nodded. "You want me to punch him out for you? Cause I will."

"Oh, no, that's not necessary," Toni shook her head. "I don't want things to be awkward for you at work because you punched the boss's kid."

"Well, it's not like he won't deserve it," Adrian remarked. From experience, he recognized ass-hole behavior when he saw it. "You go do your thing. But don't draw it out too long."

"I won't," Toni assured him. "I promise."

She got downstairs and finally answered the door. The bell had stopped ringing and Vincent had resorted to hitting it with his fists. "Damn it, let me in!" He called. "I just wanna talk! I don't wanna hurt anyone!"

"Well, we don't want to talk to you, you scumbag!" Toni spat, her arms crossed and eyes narrowed. "Now go away before I lose my temper and beat you to death! I know how to do it! And don't come back, either!"

"I didn't come here to start a fight," Vincent said. He tried to be reasonable in spite of Toni's hostility. "I just wanna know if Nick and Lauren got out of the fire all right. If they're okay. I couldn't find them after the fire and it's just...I've been crazy with worry ever since!"

"Oh, stop!" Toni scoffed. "You expect me to believe that? You weren't worried for them when you were sneaking out to the club at night and screwing other girls when a decent person in your position would be acknowledging his duties as a husband and father! You're really pathetic, you know that? I have no more to say to you! Go away!"

But Vincent didn't move and for several minutes, they just stared each other down, until at last, Lauren appeared, clutching Nick tightly, knowing that her presence was the only way to end this. "Hello, Vincent," she murmured.

The sight of her emboldened him and as a feeling of immense relief washed over him, he took a few steps forward into the house and tried to take Lauren into his arms, saying apologies and asking her to come home

"No, no," she said and held him off. "I'm not...I'm not ready for that yet. I still...I have things I need to work out. I'm gonna stay here with Toni for now. And if you just trust me...if you give me the time I need without pushing me, I might be home sooner than you think."

"You will?" Vincent asked hopefully.

"Yeah, maybe," Lauren nodded. "That's all up to you, though."

"Meaning don't cheat on her, you asshole," Toni hissed. "Realize what you did wrong and sleep alone until Lauren's ready!"

"Toni," Lauren remonstrated. "I think he gets the point. You don't need to say anything else."

"Fine," Toni sighed.

"Go back upstairs to Adrian," Lauren urged. "I'm sure he doesn't want to wait for you."

"I'm not moving until _he_ leaves," Toni said firmly. And, as promised, she didn't move until Vincent had muttered an apology and a goodbye, then drove away. Only then did she run back up to Adrian, shut the door, and then remove her robe and join him in bed once more.

"Everything okay?" Adrian asked, taking her in his arms and kissing her hair. "I mean, I think it is, cause you're in one piece."

"Yeah, it's all right," Toni agreed. "I think Lauren's being way too soft on him cause she says she'll come back to him eventually if he doesn't screw things up anymore, but I guess it's not my place to say anything, is it?"

"Not if you want to keep having a good relationship with her, unfortunately," Adrian replied. Then he grinned and began tickling her, not stopping until she hit him with a pillow. She balanced on her elbows and kissed him soundly, then he kissed her under the chin and down her neck until he paused and said, "I wanna bite you now. Is that okay?"

"Yeah," Toni nodded. "Especially since I heal so fast now."

So he kissed her neck a few more times and then bit down, feeling a little worried when she gasped, presumably in pain, her body shaking. But that didn't last long and soon she was laughing and saying "Oh, yes! Oh, yes!" Then, after he licked the blood up, he grinned at her. "You know, you're kind of a freak. I like it."

"Yeah?" Toni grinned. "I like it too."

He paused. "And thank you...thank you for coming back to me after you sent Lauren and Nick away. It would have been real easy for you to go with them and get away from the Dragon, and after all she put you through, I wouldn't have blamed you if that's what you'd done." He paused. "It made me realize that I...I love you."

"What?" Toni asked. She seemed caught off guard and a little surprised. "Did you just say that you _love_ me?"

"Yes, but if we're not saying that yet, I can take it back," Adrian quickly backpedaled. Geez he was terrible at this.

"Of course we're saying that!" Toni told him. "Why do you think I came back? I didn't want you to face the Dragon alone because I love you too! We're in this together now! You're _never_ getting rid of me!"

"Good!" Adrian told her and buried himself inside her again as he laced his fingers in hers. "Nice to know you're not going anywhere when I've gotten used to you. As a roommate I have sex with, you're not so bad."

Toni chuckled. "Well, as a girlfriend, I think I can be even better. And just so you know, as a roommate I have sex with who's my boyfriend now, you're not so bad yourself."


	107. Room For Two More

"Are you okay?" Adrian asked Toni one night as she poked at her dinner. "Have I done something wrong?"

"No, it's not you!" Toni assured him. "I'm just...I'm used to being active so just having a comfy place to rest because I don't have to get up and run to another place the next day...it's kind of boring. I need something to do with myself."

"You could come work with me," Adrian suggested. "Maeve's out on her maternity leave and even after that will need to have a schedule adjustment so she can look after her babies when Junior is at the hospital. We need someone to cover for her."

"Oh, but do you really think I'm the best bet?" Toni questioned, nervously playing with her blonde hair. "I broke into Lucifer's house, conspired with someone to kill him, and I can't go through a day without wanting to punch his son in the face."

"Don't be so negative," Adrian told her with a smile. "I think it could work out still. You're a really good fighter, which will work in your favor." He then called Lucifer. "Hey, boss. What do you think of Toni coming and subbing for Maeve? You wanna talk to her?" He handed Toni the phone. "He wants to talk to you."

"Should I talk to him?" Toni whispered. "I don't know..."

Adrian sighed and put the phone back to his ear. "I think you make her nervous," he told Lucifer. "She doesn't want to talk to you until she's sure that you won't be mad and murder her or something."

"Well, isn't that ironic?" Lucifer drawled. "She was part of a plot to murder me, broke into my house several times without hesitation, and only _now_ do I make her nervous." He paused. "I'll not do anything to her, but what sort of Devil would I be if I just let something like what she did slide without at least making her nervous."

"Oh, come on!" Adrian said. "Be nice! If you freak her out too much, she won't want to come work for you at all and let's face it: she's good and you could really use her."

"You don't need to sing her praises," Lucifer told him. "Just give me the phone."

"Be nice," Adrian said, keeping his eyes on Toni. "She's shaking already."

"Why'd you have to go and tell him that?" Toni hissed through her teeth as Adrian handed her the phone. "Haven't I been through enough?"

"The sooner you make him feel like he's gotten his vengeance for what you did, the sooner he'll get over it all and be nice to you," Adrian informed her. "Be glad that he wants to get it all over with quickly and that it won't linger."

"Okay," Toni nodded and put the phone to her ear. "Hi," she said, trying not to sound nervous. "Toni here."

"Hello, Antonia," Lucifer said in a tone that made her shiver and wince. "How are we this evening?"

"At the moment?" Toni replied. "Fine." She then mentally applauded herseld for keeping her voice steady. "And how are you?"

"I'm in a bit of a quandry," he replied. "My head of security has just had children, so I need someone to replace her until she's sufficiently bonded with them and all that," Lucifer said. "And since you broke into my house, beat up Adrian, and not only that, did it more than once without sustaining much harm, I was wondering if you would use those skills to fight _for_ me, rather than against me?"

"Well, you're asking me as if I have a choice," Toni told him. "Do I?"

"You do owe me for breaking into my house," he told her. "You didn't think I was just going to let you get away with that, did you?"

"You have to understand that your girlfriend was blackmailing me!" Toni protested. I had no choice in the matter! She would have killed me if I didn't do what she wanted."

"I understand that," Lucifer assured her. "Why do you think I'm speaking in such an even tone? Why do you think I'm insisting you work for me instead of ordering you killed outright?"

"Well, I suppose you have a point," Toni agreed.

"And my seeing you on a daily basis will show me that I have no reason be uncertain about your loyalties," Lucifer added. "So...will I see you with him when Adrian comes to work tomorrow?"

"Yes sir," Toni nodded. "You will."

"Wonderful!" Lucifer exclaimed. "See you then, dear." The call ended and slightly shell-shocked Toni handed Adrian his phone back.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Adrian asked as he put his arm around her. "His bark is really worse than his bite, you know. Unless you've done something really awful and he knows you haven't. He just has to keep up appearances. It won't be anything like working for the dragon lady."

"I hope not," Toni murmured and rested her head on his shoulder as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Cause I really don't think I could go through that again."

* * *

"So you're just gonna hire the woman who broke into our house and tried to destroy our lives?" Dexter asked, his tone dubious.

"You seem to feel like I've made a bad decision," Lucifer told him. "But why is that? Adrian says she's fine. Should I not trust him?"

"All I'm saying is you should at least get to know her first," Dexter advised. "She could still have it in for you, for all you know." He paused. "And with the difficultites between Lauren and Vincent, and the fact that she's Lauren's sister...Vincent could be in trouble!"

"I don't think she'd be stupid enough to pull anything under our watchful eyes," Lucifer told him. "And anything Vincent gets, he deserves for being so foolish. But since you feel very strongly about me meeting her first before anything is official, I will."

"Good," Dexter nodded. "Thank you. I think that's what's best."

So Lucifer told Adrian to bring Toni by over his lunch hour so they could have a face to face chat.

"All right," Adrian nodded. "I will. That shouldn't be a problem."

* * *

And when Toni got to his office, she found not just Lucifer waiting for her, but Ellie and Dexter as well.

"I'm sure Adrian's told you about my wife and my..." he paused, trying to think of the right word. "And Dexter. Have a seat. We just want to chat a little."

"Yeah," Ellie told her and gave her a warm smile. "No worries."

This made Toni relax a little, but then she made the mistake of looking at Lucifer as Adrian helped her to the chair on the other side of the desk and felt herself tense again.

"All right," she said. "Go ahead and get it all out. What am I going to do here? How much am I going to suffer?"

"You're not gonna suffer!" Ellie assured her after shoving a hand over Lucifer's mouth. "Who told you that you would?"

"I just assumed I would at least be threatened with that when I walked through the door," Toni shrugged. "Given what I did in the past and all."

Lucifer moved Ellie's hand and gripped her chin so that she faced him. "This woman broke into our house, Eleanor," He informed her. "And she was working with the Dragon!"

Ellie then moved her head so that her chin was out of Lucifer's grip. "So you were working for the woman who hurt me," she cleared her throat and kept her eyes on Toni. "Now that she's dead, do you intend on engaging in that sort of work anymore?"

"Not if I can help it," Toni shook her head. "I did it because I had no other choice. But it was truly awful." She paused. "All I want to do now is to start building up a family again. Be with my sister and my nephew. That's all. I don't want to harm anyone."

"Even Vincent?" Lucifer asked, his eyes narrowed. "If hired and allowed free reign over this house would you do more than just, say, punch him in the face?"

"Lucifer!" Ellie remonstrated. "You can't be saying it's all right for anyone we hire to just go around punching Vincent in the face with no provocation whatsoever!"

"I admit that I don't feel the best about your son," Toni admitted, her hand becoming a fist under the desk. "But I promise I will not let my personal feelings get in the way of my work and will only act out against him if he starts trouble with me first." She paused. "But I assume that I'll be so busy that I'll barely have much time around Vincent anyway, right?"

"Naturally," Ellie assured her.

"Then there should not be any problem," Toni said. "Unless of course, as I said, he hurts me first. Then I reserve the right to punch as I see fit."

"Of course if you _break_ that promise, you know I'll find out, don't you?" Lucifer asked without looking up. "And then all bets will be off as far as retribution is concerned. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes," Toni got out, reminding herself that this whole thing was just a formality and an intimidation tactic, a test to see if she could handle it all. He was gonna hire her anyway. He'd said so over the phone! Her eyes went to her shoes and then she looked up just in time to see Dexter give Lucifer a frown.

"Are you done?" He asked.

"Yes, yes," Lucifer nodded. "No need to get cranky, Dexter. She already knows that she's hired. She owes me after all that she did to get the Dragon here."

"And you know that she can kick butt," Adrian added. "She beat _me_ up back when she was still human so think about how much good she'll do now that she's a demon!"

"How did you become a demon?" Lucifer asked. "If it's not prying too much."

"Pissed the Dragon off, she turned me, there you go," Toni shrugged. "It sucks but I'm getting used to it."

"Well, if there's anything we can do to help, let us know," Lucifer said, much to both Dexter and Ellie's surprise. But then Ellie reached out and ran her hand over his back, giving him an encouraging smile.

"When can you start?" She asked Toni. "Soon as possible? I mean, I don't know how many other people besides the Dragon have it out for my husband, but I assume that there are at least _a few people_ , and with our new baby coming soon, I don't want to have chinks in our armor for longer than we can help."

"Right," Toni nodded. "Don't worry. I can start as soon as you need me to."

"Good," Ellie nodded, her hand moving to her belly and her body jumping a little as she felt a kick. "That's wonderful to hear."

* * *

Now that he'd found someone to cover for Maeve, Lucifer could cross that off his list and move on to the next thing: The matter of Lee.

Of course, he wasn't living in this new mansion. After the fire and the death of his mother, he'd made a run for it without any word of where he was going.

That meant it would be more difficult to find him, but that _didn't_ mean it couldn't be done. It took some time, but with help from a private investigator, Lucifer finally located Lee in a small apartment a few hours away.

"Don't come in!" Lee shouted from behind the closed apartment door. "You're not my father! Why is it that you're here?"

"That's what I want to talk to you about," Lucifer told him. "I was...I wasn't exactly telling the truth when we first talked. Let me in and I will explain."

"Really?" Lee called. There was a pause and then he opened the door and let Lucifer in. "All right, come in. I assume that since you went to all this trouble to find me, you aren't lying now. But why did you lie before?"

"I thought it would be difficult for my family to accept with what your mother was up to and all. I thought it would be easier to tell you the truth when we were alone," Lucifer told him.

"So it's true?" Lee questioned, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "You really _are_ my father?"

"Well you said so yourself that that picture was pretty solid evidence," Lucifer remarked. "And overall, does it really matter what the answer is? If that's what you want me to be, then of course I am."

"If...if that's the case, then why wait until now to come out with it?" Lee asked. "Why couldn't you have just said something before?"

"Well, it's a very delicate situation with my wife and my children," Lucifer told him. "Now, don't take this to mean I'm ashamed of you, but since your mother was not exactly forth-coming about your existence, I've always told my wife and my children that they're the first family I've ever had and they're not exactly keen for that to change. So of course you're invited to stay with us if you'd like, but..."

"Be gentle with the truth of our relationship," Lee nodded. "I understand. I won't stir things up. I'll try not to. I promise."

"Thank you," Lucifer replied. "And I do promise they will accept you eventually. Or at least Eleanor will. And then Angelica. And eventually Vincent and Valerie too, but I just believe they'll take a little longer."

* * *

"I think _someone_ owes me an explanation!" Ellie said upon her return to Lucifer's office from her weekly visit to check things out in Hell soon after. She'd had to strengthen the spell that kept everyone in and sent some demons after a few escapees that always put her in a bad mood, with her vampire face on and everything.

"An explanation about what?" Lucifer asked with a smile, playing innocent, even though he knew _exactly_ what she was mad about. "You know, you're looking particularly lovely today, Eleanor. Have I told you that?" He got to his feet. "Can I get you something from the snack machine? I was about to go get some cool ranch snacks myself."

Ellie blocked the door. "You're not getting any snacks until you talk to me!" She said. "I was silent at first but I can't keep quiet any longer! We hired Toni to help keep Dragon related people out, so what the fuck is her son doing running around our house? And why did I see him come in with suitcases? You didn't tell me that he was moving in! You didn't ask me if it was all right!"

"Well, I'm using a favor to get Lee in our house," Lucifer told her. "I knew when I told him to come stay that you would object, but rethink your objection! The young man had to spend his whole life being raised by Leiko and what sort of home do you think he grew up in? He probably didn't get the affection he deserved, which is why I bet he struggles with his morals and all that. I just want to give him a little guidance. A safe place. You understand, don't you? Don't you want him to know what it's like to be around unconditional love and support?"

Ellie sighed. "Fine. I won't actively try to keep him out, but don't expect me to immediately be friends with him either, and if he tries to cause trouble for me or use his relationship with you to ruin things for the kids that _I_ bore you, we're gonna have a problem. Do you understand?"

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Lucifer told her. "But as I've said, I don't think that will be anything you have to worry about."

"It better not be." Ellie paused. "Oh, and speaking of _our_ children, our new son is gonna be named Noah, and you are not allowed to protest. If you get to keep the son of some other woman in our house, I get to pick our next baby's name. You named the first two, I named the next two."

"But... _Noah_?" Lucifer groaned. "You don't mean the git on the ark? I never understood why Dad saved him anyway. He really wasn't any better than anyone else."

Ellie scoffed, her dark eyes flashing. "You got used to having an Angelica, you'll get used to Noah too." She paused. "I'm gonna go to my office now and calm down. It was a long day in Hell."

"When is it not?" Lucifer asked. "What can I get you from the vending machine?"

"Two packs of those chocolate cupcakes with the cream in the middle," Ellie told him, taking a deep breath. "Please."

* * *

"Thanks for letting me come to book club with you," Lisa told Amy as they made their way into the mansion to meet Ellie and the others. "Even though Dad was so against it. I don't get why, though."

"He's still adjusting to you growing up," Amy informed her. "Now that you're older and gorgeous, he's gonna think every man in the world is after you."

"Oh, he doesn't have to worry about that here," Lisa shrugged, blushing at her mother's compliment. "Lucifer's son likes someone else and the guy who saved me, the one who used to roam around here, disappeared somewhere."

"I don't think that'll help much, even if it's true," Amy said. "Now, what is it that you plan to do while I'm reading?"

"I'm sure I'll find something," Lisa promised. "And I _swear_ I won't get in trouble."

As soon as she and Amy had separated, she made her way to the library where she saw a person sitting in a highbacked chair. She saw the book they held in their lap and came to sit on the chair arm, hoping to start a conversation. "Is that a good book?" She asked. Then started as she got a look at the guy in the chair.

"What are you doing back?" She asked Lee. "I thought you left!"

"I could ask you the same question," Lee replied. "Do you have some sort of tracking device on me or something?"

"Well, that's hurtful!" Lisa pouted. "I didn't come here to fight. I just wanted to make a friend. Can I stay? Please?"

Lee looked up. Something about the way she said 'Please' affected him in a way he didn't want to admit he liked. But he couldn't show her. "All right," he said. "Just don't speak. And sit in another chair. You're much too close to me."

"I was gonna move," she huffed and hopped off the arm of the chair. "I just wanted to see what you were reading!" She headed over the other chair and as she walked, he couldn't keep his eyes off her, but as she sat down, a deep frown on her face, he looked away. "There, I'm in another chair. Happy? If you like me so much, you think you'd be nicer!"

"Who said I liked you?" Lee got out. "What would possibly make you think that?"

"I saw how you looked at me when I was naked before!" She pointed out. "I've got eyes, you know!"

"I was _not_ staring at you because I found you attractive," Lee corrected. "I was staring because it's not common for someone to turn from a toddler to a naked teenager in the space of five minutes." He paused. "But if I were to give you an honest appraisal of your looks now that I've gotten used to the sight of you, your figure is _much_ too underwhelming to be appealing to me, your hair is atrocious, and...and you smell-"

"I don't smell!" Lisa cut him off. "I took a shower today!"

"Well, whatever you covered yourself with, it's absolutely noxious!" He told her, even though he really liked it. Orange blossoms, he thought. Not overpowering, but of course he noticed it.

"Are you done?" Lisa asked, rising to her feet in a very graceful way and striding over to him.

"Well, no, but..." Lee said, trying not to look down her blouse as she gave him a good hard slap.

"Actually you are!" She said. She was disappointed that she didn't slap him hard enough for his head to go flying off his shoulders, so she tried it again, and again.

"Why do you keep slapping me?" He asked, grabbing her wrist as blood rose up in his face. "Wasn't once enough?"

"No," Lisa breathed. "I'm trying to knock your stupid head off your shoulders!"

"With just a slap?" He burst into laughter. "You can't do that."

"How do you know?" Lisa asked. "I can do lots of things."

"I'm sure you can," he said, still smirking. "Just not that."

"Don't treat me like I'm an idiot," Lisa told him. "I know I haven't been old for very long, but have a little respect, would you?"

"And what will you do if I don't?" Lee asked.

"I'll tell your father and then he'll kick you out on your butt!" Lisa told him with a smug smirk and then magicked a book from a nearby shelf onto her lap.

But just as she opened it, Lee knocked it out of her lap and pulled her to her feet, kissing her soundly and then pushing her back onto the chair. "You'll do nothing," he said, hating himself for letting her get the better of him when his mother had drilled into him the importance of emotional control his whole life. "And you'll say nothing about what I just did to anyone."

"Why not?" Lisa questioned.

"Because I just don't want you to," he said and then got out of the library before she could do anything that would make him humiliate himself further.


	108. The Wife Protection Program

"Your dad called me about the twins as well," Sarah told Ellie when they chatted at Sarah and Josh's the next day. "When I told him I was happy that he'd found happiness with Maeve and the girls, he was a bit surprised. I bet he thought I would be horribly jealous."

"I was kind of thrown at first," Ellie admitted. "Seeing him be so ready to commit to another family when he struggled so much to commit to us and failed at it...yeah, that stung. But I'm proud of him for growing up."

Sarah nodded and took her hand. "I'm so glad you're taking it so well," she said. "I know it's hard living like you have been. You haven't always been part of a two parent family and when you are, they have other children." She paused. "And your dad told me what you said...about how you thought you messed up my life. You didn't. Seriously, I couldn't love anybody more if I tried."

"Really?" Ellie looked up and grinned before whispering, "Even more than Hannah?"

"Well, I guess more love showed for you because you needed it," Sarah told her. "I knew Hannah had Josh to love her too, so...it was different." She gave her a hug. "Everything okay at home?"

"It is, except that," Ellie took a breath. "Lucifer either has a son he never knew about before now, or else he's adopted a son of one of his exes. I'm not quite sure which. Anyway, he lives with us now and I'm not sure I like it."

"Why don't you like it?" Sarah asked. "If it's his son, it's not like he's gonna cheat on you with him or anything."

"It's just...it's like it's happening again," Ellie said. "Just when I'm in a stable family unit that I'm comfortable with, someone has to come along and make it be all askew. I mean, you start by inviting in the son of another girlfriend and that could open the floodgates and before you know it, all sorts of people could be moving in with us! It's like I'm not gonna have control of anything anymore!" She pouted. "Why can't people just pay attention to _me_? Why am I never enough?"

"Of course you're enough," Sarah hugged her. "It's just that...can you blame people for wanting to give out as much love as possible?"

"Well, no, but couldn't you all have waited until I was ready emotionally to share attention?" Ellie huffed. "Cause I wasn't! I know it's selfish to say so, but I don't know how else to put it!"

"And it made you learn something," Sarah pointed out. "Just sitting back and feeling like people will just _give_ you the attention you think you deserve doesn't work. Now frankly, I think you're being over dramatic and there's no way Lucifer would toss you aside, ever. But if you want to make sure of that, think of something that will catch his eye, you know? Make it impossible for him to think about anyone or anything else. Can you do that?"

"I can try," Ellie nodded. She'd gotten much less sympathy from her mother than she'd thought she would. Maybe she was more bitter about Junior and Maeve than she'd let on. "I can definitely try."

* * *

And because she wanted to do it before she chickened out, she decided to go shopping immediately after leaving her mother. But first she made a call to Lucifer so he wouldn't worry.

"You're going shopping?" Lucifer asked. "You realize you don't actually have to go to the store? Just tell Annabelle what you want and she'll get it for you."

"I know I could do that, but the exercise is good for me," Ellie reminded him. "I'll come home right after. I know what I'm getting. I'm not browsing for five million years."

"You don't have to assure me," he told her, even though he was glad she was just going in, grabbing something, and then returning home. He knew she wasn't fragile. He did. But he couldn't help but worry about her in her condition. "I know you'll be all right. Enjoy yourself."

"All right," Ellie said. "I will." She ended the call and then drove to the store where she got her maternity clothes, the saleswoman meeting her with a smile. "What can I do for you today, Ms. Morningstar?" She asked.

"I need something pretty," Ellie said with a smile. "A night gown that will make me feel sexy. Can that even be _done_ with maternity wear, Jen?"

"Of course it can," Jen nodded, her blue eyes sparkling. "I think I have just the thing. Come back with me and I'll show you."

* * *

Just before heading into his room that night, Lucifer removed his shirt and threw it through the open bedroom door before shutting it again and preparing to make an entrance. He wanted to cheer Eleanor up because she always found pregnancy the time where she was not at her most attractive and so he had to do what he could to prove that she was. When he opened the door, he started to stride into the room but then paused, his jaw dropping when he saw something that he definitely was not expecting: Eleanor was lounging on their bed, barefoot and in a really sexy while lace negligee and robe.

"Well, I like this," he grinned and made his way to the bed, climbing in and putting his arm around her as he kissed her soundly. "Is this what you bought today?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I thought it would make me feel better. I had a talk with Mom and when I told her about my feelings regarding Lee living here and the effect it could have on our family, she said I was being over dramatic and that I shouldn't just wait around for people to give me attention. I should take intiative and get it myself. I think it worked!" She paused. "Did it work?"

Lucifer grinned, pulling her to him and kissing her again as his hand went up her thigh. "What do you think?" He asked. "But what is this you're talking about with Lee stealing our family? He's certainly not. That was his mother's big desire, of course, but it won't happen.

"I know," Ellie sighed and ruffled his hair. "I know I'm being silly. But when both Dads go on to have other families and make you feel like you don't belong, even for a little while, it can make a person a bit nervous." She locked eyes with him. "This is my home. I've felt more at home here with you and the kids than I have anywhere else and I don't want to feel at all like it's not home."

"You won't," Lucifer promised, his fingers running through her hair. "Lee being here won't change anything. In fact, I don't even know how long he'll stay. He might leave tomorrow. All my offer did was let him know that this is a safe place for him. That's all. Okay?"

"Okay," Ellie told him. "I love you, Lucifer Morningstar."

He chuckled as she rested her head against his shoulder and he put one arm around her and one on her belly. "I love you too, Eleanor."

* * *

"Lisa!" Ellie said in surprise when she saw the girl be ushered in by Dexter, who then departed. "It's not a book club day. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was just thinking...we've gotten to know each other a lot since I've been coming with Mom when she comes to your book club so I wondered, with the baby coming, would you want me to babysit? I mean, I understand if the answer is no because I know you have like, a million people around here who could do it, but..."

"No, you know, that is a very nice offer!" Ellie said. "I think I'll take you up on it!"

"Thanks!" Lisa smiled. "I'll have a little extra money and it...it'll give me a perfect chance to spy on that guy who lives here. The Asian guy!"

Ellie spat out her water when she heard that. "You wanna use this job to spy on Lee?" She asked.

"If that'll stop me from getting the job, I don't have to," Lisa quickly backpedaled. "He finds me annoying and I don't want to cause trouble!"

"Oh, no, I will pay you extra to spy on and annoy him!" Ellie smiled and rubbed her hands together, looking like an evil villain. "I don't really feel comfortable having him here but I'm not allowed to throw him out. But no one said I couldn't set it up so that he would _choose_ to leave!" She was being ridiculous again. She knew that. But despite all the assurances Lucifer gave her to make her feel better about Lee's presence, she knew that she wouldn't feel better until he was gone, or at the very least, miserable. "So...do you want the job or not?"

"Sure, I'll take it," Lisa nodded. "Thanks."

It was just after they made this arrangement that Lee happened to pass by the room and Ellie called out to him to tell him the good news.

"What is it?" He asked. Ellie never talked to him. In fact, he was pretty sure she didn't like him at all. "What do you want?"

"I was just wondering if you could do me a favor," Ellie said. "Lisa here will be our babysitter when the next child finally comes. Will you go with her to tell everyone about the new arrangement? Please?" She grinned widely. "It would be a big help."

"Sure," Lee said through his teeth. "Of course I would love to. Whose marvelous idea was this?"

"Mine!" Lisa chirped as Lee pursed his lips and shook his head. "I just wanted to help around the house, you know! And I thought that since you and I were getting along so well, you wouldn't mind!"

Lee let out a bark of laughter, then grabbed her by the ponytail and dragged her from the room. "Of course I don't mind," he said as she protested. "Just come into the hallway with me and I will tell you how much I don't mind."

Ellie saw this and thought about getting up to help, but then decided against, given how angry Lee was. And she was sure Lisa was more than capable of defending herself against him.

"What is your _problem_?" Lee demanded of Lisa when he finally let her go. "Why are you so obsessed with me? Why can't you just leave me alone? I've done nothing to warrant being harassed like this!"

Lisa growled and gave him a good hard push into the nearby wall. "You think _I'm_ the one who's obsessed with _you_? That's a laugh. I'm just taking a paying job in the same house that you live in for someone else entirely. That you think I'm here because of some interest in _you_ because I'm in the same house for my job...I think that shows which one of us is obsessed with the other and here's a hint: it ain't me! You, at the very least, are obsessed with the idea of me being obsessed with you. That is _really_ pathetic. Get a life, would you, you crazy person?"

"I'm not the crazy one!" He called after her, unsure of how else to respond. "And when you come back here, don't you try and talk to me or see me!"

"I won't have to," Lisa called back. "I'll just have to look over my shoulder and there you'll be without me even asking!"

* * *

She was feeling pretty good about the plan until she told her parents about it. Then her good mood popped like a balloon. Her mother, of course, had no problem with it, but as usual, her dad, the most overprotective man on the planet, needed some convincing.

"No," Elijah shook his head. "You are not spending time alone at Lucifer's house. It's one thing to go with your mother to book club, but this is something else entirely and I don't agree to it."

"Why not?" Lisa asked. "You know that when I go with Mom for book club, I don't actually do book club with them? I hang out."

"You don't take her in for book club with you?" Elijah asked Amy. "I thought that was the point!"

"What fun would she have doing book club with me?" Amy asked. "And what's wrong with letting her walk around the house and explore? She's responsible. She won't get in trouble. And the job is just her looking after Ellie and Lucifer's new baby once Ellie's gone back to work. How much trouble could she possibly get into?"

Of course they both remained ignorant of the _other_ part of her job, spying on Lee. That was something that knew her father, and even her mother, would try and stop, so that was just between her and Ellie.

"You know who else lives at Lucifer's house?" Lisa asked, struck by a sudden inspiration. "Cousin Christopher! Would it make you feel better to have me at Lucifer's if, while I was watching their baby, I hung out with Christopher? Would it, Daddy?"

"The thought of you using one of my brother's children as a "safe" person doesn't really help your case much," Elijah said. "There's no one at that house I trust outside of Eleanor and when you're in the house, she won't even be around."

"I personally think the compromise with Christopher is a fair one," Amy said. "And Christopher usually hangs around Ellie's sister Hannah. And while Hannah on the whole, is not as predictably safe as Ellie, she's not bad." She and Lisa looked at one another, then back at Elijah.

"You might as well give her permission," Amy told him."Or she'll just go with my blessing."

"But that means I have absolutely no say in what happens with my daughter!" Elijah cried. "I won't stand for that!"

"Of course you have a say," Amy told him. "Just as long as you don't say 'No'."

"Give it up, Daddy," Lisa said and hugged him. "There's no way for you to win this one."

"There never is," Elijah sighed, but looked at his wife and daughter with fondness anyway. "There never is."

* * *

Though Lauren was grateful to Toni for taking her and Nick in, after a couple of weeks, she began to feel like she had overstayed her welcome and began looking for an apartment for the two of them. She started doing it in secret, but one day Toni found her out.

"What are you looking at apartments for?" She asked. "I told you that you could stay here as long as you want!"

"I know and that's sweet, but...I'm beginning to feel like I've overstayed my welcome," Lauren told her. " And besides that, Nick and I need to move on to a place where Vincent doesn't know the address."

"But how will you pay for an apartment? You don't have any money!" Toni said. "Or at least not enough to keep you able to live in a place for a long time!"

Lauren sighed. "Not long before Mom and Dad died, Grandma and Grandpa Lambert passed away and they left us both half of their money and left the other half to Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad kept it safe for us to split later and I just...I went out and got it from the bank a few days ago when I realized I wanted to start apartment hunting. I hope you don't mind. You want your half now or do you want me to just leave it when I go?"

"You can take all of it," Toni told her. "Grandma and Grandpa liked me about as much as Mom and Dad did, and besides, I already got a house. You're the one who has to set up a whole new life, so take everything that will help and let me know what I can do."

"Thanks," Lauren said and hugged her. "Thanks a lot."

* * *

"What do you think of this one?" Toni asked Lauren as they stepped inside a lovely two bedroom place with large windows and soft dark blue carpets. "It's by a school. That's a good thing."

"And you and your baby will be in good company," the landlord added. "There are many families with kids in this building so there's not much of a worry anyone will think you and your son are a problem."

"Well, that's nice to hear," Lauren smiled. They walked around to check out the other rooms and in the end, decided the place was adequate for their purposes, which they were quick to mention.

"There are a couple more interested parties, so I'll be calling you in about a week with my decision," the landlord told them, her smile wide. "But I want to assure you that you're at the top of the list."

"No, no," Toni shook her head. "My sister needs this apartment _now._ She can't wait! She's on the run from her husband who's an abusive asshole!"

"Toni," Lauren blushed. "There's no need to cause trouble. If she says we need to wait a week, then..."

But her sister was already using her demon powers on the woman and soon, the decision was made and Lauren was signing the lease.

"That was very sneaky, Toni," she said. "I mean, I'm grateful, but it was _still_ very sneaky."

"You're welcome," Toni told her with a grin and patted her on the head.

* * *

With Lauren at an address that was unknown to Vincent, Toni's mind was put at ease. If he couldn't find her, that would at least give Lauren time to sort things out.

But it was soon apparent that being sent away once didn't stop Vincent from coming back for his wife.

"Lauren's not here," Toni said after punching Vincent in the face. "She's started a new life with Nick where she'll be happy without you and I'm damn glad I helped. You can leave now. I think that would be best."

"Why would I stay when you don't have what I want?" Vincent asked. He had a bottle of red wine in hand and he stood unsteadily. A burp that showed alcohol was on his breath as well as an inability to keep his balance told Toni that he was definitely drunk. "Where is she and I'll be out of your hair, since that's what you want. Tell me where Lauren and my son are."

"No!" Toni shook her head. "Have you lost your mind? Go stick your head in a sink and dry out. With any luck, you'll fall asleep and drown. Good night, Vincent!"

She waited for him to go, but he wouldn't and finally, although she knew it was a stupid thing to do, she called the police to come deal with him.

When he was apprehended, he struggled at first, but then, suddenly, became limp, acquiescing as he was shoved into the back of the police car. Toni didn't understand why he'd stopped fighting, but she was so grateful to see him gone that she didn't give it any more thought once the police car disappear.

* * *

As the police drove away from Toni and Adrian's, Vincent came back to life, compelling them not to take him to jail, but to Lauren's house. Granted, he didn't know where that was, but because of the compulsion, the officers were more than happy to help him out, and when they reached the apartment building, Vincent left them and headed inside, knocking on Lauren's door and saying nothing because he knew if he shouted, she wouldn't answer.

Lauren answered immediately because she thought it was one of her new neighbors and she wanted to get to know people. But she gasped when she saw it was Vincent and tried to close the door on him, but he overpowered her, getting inside and shutting the door behind him.

He then grabbed her and kissed her sloppily, then held onto her to stop himself from falling over. Those two things told her that he wasn't exactly sober. The alcohol was obvious on his breath. That must've been some stuff he was drinking to get him hammered.

"Where's my son?" He slurred. "Go get my son and come home with me!"

"Let go of me!" She shoved him away. "You go home! You're drunk! I don't want him around you, drunk, sober, or anything else!"

As he fell, he hit his head on the floor and Lauren was almost moved to help him. But she didn't, letting him get to his feet by himself, his body full of rage, and his eyes and face those of a demon as he grabbed her and held her tight. "You will never leave me!" He roared in a distorted voice. "You belong to me and no one else!"

His yelling made Nick cry, which made Lauren much braver than she felt. Staring Demon Vincent down, she balled her hands into fists and punched him twice before pushing him away and pointing toward the door, using her powers to open it. "You can go now," she told him. "The door is open. You better leave, or else-"

"Or else what?" Vincent chuckled. "What will you do if I don't leave?" He grabbed her and held her close against his body. "Will you scream? Go ahead!"

"I hate you!" She said in a low voice after grabbing his hand and biting it as he let out a howl of pain and a stream of curses and she slammed the door shut, wishing he would just go so she could quiet her son. He was probably terrified and she didn't blame him one bit. "I hate that I ever loved you, and especially after this little display, there's no way I'll ever expose Nick to you and your terrible temper!"

But Vincent wasn't fazed by this. "I don't think I'm the one that's the bad influence here. What will you do when you get horny, huh? You know you won't be able to focus on him then cause you'll be fucking demons every chance you get. You won't be able to help yourself. So I'll make it easy on you and take him off your hands if you don't want to live with me. That would be the best choice, don't you think?"

"Don't you touch my son!" Lauren cried as he hurled her to the floor and followed the sound of the crying. "Stay away from my son! Don't you lay a hand on him!" She got up and ran after him, not catching him until they were both paused outside Nick's door.

Vincent put a finger to his lips and slowly turned the doorknob, opening the door and tiptoeing inside with a tense Lauren following him. She really wanted to fight him, to cold cock him and render him unconscious. But she knew she couldn't do that without possibly hurting Nick since they were in his room. _Damn_ , Vincent was good.

As he approached the crib, Lauren waited, prepared to hit Vincent if he even tried to pick Nick up. But to her surprise, he didn't. He just stood staring down at him and making shushing and cooing noises. And faces that made Nick laugh. Then he turned his head, stepped wrong, and fell down, giggling till he hit the floor. And when he refused to get to his feet on his own, Lauren groaned and finally helped him up.

"Leave now," she hissed. "It's about time you listened."

"Fine, I'll go now," he said and gave her a spanking. "Catch you later, babe." Lauren watched him go then and once he was gone, she went back to Nick's room and collapsed in the rocking chair, taking a deep, calming breath, relieved that her son was now sleeping soundly and that no harm had come to him.


	109. And Noah Makes Four

"When you're ready to meet your sisters, just let me know," Junior told Ellie as he saw her coming out of an examination room after a check-up. "How are you? Are you doing all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ellie told him. "Would it be all right for me to see them now? Are you on a lunch break or something?"

"Actually," Junior yawned and stretched. "I'm on the way home. I had to pull a double shift. I want to have a good, long nap." He paused. "Will you be okay being with them while I sleep?"

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "I'll be fine. And I can drive too."

Moving the seat a little, Ellie settled herself in the car with Junior next to her. He fell asleep as soon as the car was in motion and by the time she drove into Junior and Maeve's garage, he was snoring. She left him there for a moment, and then went inside, then breathed a sigh of relief when she found Maeve on the floor in the living room with her twins. One of the babies looked like Maeve, with her same copper skin color, dark eyes, and dark hair, and the other looked like Junior. She was white and had wisps of blonde fuzz on her head.

Ellie cleared her throat. Maeve looked up and said, "Hello! Glad you could finally come and meet Lexie and Emma. Did you come on your own?"

"No," Ellie shook her head and pulled up a chair. "Dad's asleep in the car. I'll watch the twins if you know the best way to wake him up."

"Sure," Maeve nodded and got up. "Thanks." She headed toward the door, but just she reached it, Ellie stopped her again. "Is it hard for you to raise the girls? Or are you bored and wishing that you were back at work with us again?"

"I'm enjoying the break," Maeve told her. "And would you believe me if I told you that taking care of two little babies is easier than taking care of your husband any day?"

"I'm not gonna play dumb and say I don't know what you mean," Ellie replied. "Cause I do." She paused. "One more thing: Are they good with strangers?"

"Of course they are!" Maeve nodded, her voice full of pride. "My girls fear no one!" She then went out to the garage to rouse Junior while Ellie stared down at her little sisters. She made faces at them, noting that Alexandra didn't react besides frowning, but Emma thought she was _hilarious!_

By the time Maeve brought a half-awake Junior into the house, Ellie was sitting in a chair with both girls in her lap, reading them a book that floated just ahead of her, the sight of which was not lost on her father.

"Well, this is nice!" He remarked. He was a bit more awake now. "This is the sort of first meeting I was hoping for!"

"They're babies! Did you think I was going to be mad at them and try to kill them or something?" Ellie questioned.

"No, but I know how upset you were before you'd even seen them, so I thought that actually seeing them would bring bad feelings back," Junior remarked, kissing her hair and putting arms around her shoulders. "Glad to see that's not the case." He then yawned and picked up each girl in turn off Ellie's lap to give them a hug. "Sorry I haven't been around," he told them. "Daddy had to work real hard, but like I told you, I promised I would come back. I did do that, didn't I?" He asked. Then he paused when he saw the look on Ellie's face. "Sorry," he said, realizing what he was saying and who he was saying it in front of. "You know, I think I'll go to bed now."

"Why don't you nap in the extra bed in the girls' room?" Maeve suggested. "It's time for them to take their naps too."

"Is that what it says on that schedule you made up?" Junior questioned. "I haven't looked at that yet, but it's brilliant."

"Thanks," Maeve replied. "You know how I feel about having things be orderly."

Junior then nodded and took the girls for their nap while Maeve sat down on the couch next to Ellie's chair. "Are you okay?" She asked. "I thought I saw you about to blow there, which is why I did what I could to shut your dad up."

"Thanks," Ellie replied. "It...it really doesn't bother me. It's just how things are. And he _did_ make sure to hug and kiss me first, so I can't feel completely slighted."

"But it's always gonna be something of an issue with you, isn't it?" Maeve asked. "Seeing him with the girls, I mean. Do you think it will always trigger bad feelings?"

"Not when I've gotten used to it," Ellie said. "I'm sure I won't feel anything negative after a bit. I'm happy for the girls, I really am."

They sat in awkward silence for a few seconds and then Maeve said, "Speaking of babies, how are _you_ doing?"

"Well, we're getting toward the end of this torture, which is awesome," Ellie smiled. "Lucifer's gotten everything planned out for when I go into labor, since we're actually gonna go to a hospital this time. It's kind of ridiculous, but it makes him feel like he's helping me, so I go along with it."

Maeve chuckled and shook her head. "You know, sometimes I have no idea how you and Dexter can dig down so deep to have all the patience you have with him. I have to give you so much credit!"

Ellie shrugged. "Well, I love him and I guess love makes you do crazy things."

"You want some water or some blood or something?" Maeve questioned. "Have you fed today?"

"I did this morning, but I think I just might have more," Ellie nodded. "Thanks a lot. And yes on the water, too, please."

"All right," Maeve nodded. "Coming right up."

* * *

"Well, you look awfully chipper for someone who just came back from seeing her half-siblings who'll get more attention from their father than she ever did," Lucifer remarked when Ellie went to his office and told him she was back. "You don't have to pretend with me. If you feel bad, you can say so."

Ellie hugged him. "I know moving forward is the best thing for everyone, but...I think that no matter how far along I am in my life, I'm always gonna kind of wonder what could have been if things had been a bit different between Junior and Mom, you know? If he'd have stayed."

"Well, I would have shown up either way," Lucifer remarked. "So at least that wouldn't be different."

"True, true," Ellie nodded. "And it's not like things were bad with Mom and Josh. In fact, they were probably better than they would have been with Junior anyway. So really, I have nothing to mourn for. I didn't really miss out on anything in terms of being loved and cared for."

"No, and you'll just punish yourself if you keep thinking that you did," Lucifer nodded.

Ellie smiled. "Well, that's very wise," she said. "When did you get so smart?"

"Well, when you've existed basically since the beginning of time, you do pick up a few things," Lucifer grinned. "Now. I know you think this is a pain, but I want to go through the drill again. Everyone is all ready."

"Are you serious?" Ellie groaned. "We don't need to have a drill every five minutes to make sure your scheme is efficient! We'll be fine!"

"It's the only time you'll have to do it today," Lucifer said and kissed her soundly before taking her hand and pulling her out the door. "I promise."

"Oh, all right," Ellie sighed as he led her from the room. Then she rolled her eyes and called out in an admittedly mechanical voice, "Oh, dear. My water has broken. We must get to the hospital now."

"Could have used more feeling and urgency, but...you heard the lady!" Lucifer called out to everyone. "Let's move, move, move!" He started the clock as Dexter and others grabbed suitcases and made pretend phone calls and got the car ready.

"Not bad," Lucifer remarked. "Less than ten minutes. I think we could do better, though. Why don't we-"

"No!" Ellie cut him off. "You said that this was the only time I'd have to do this today and I'm taking you at your word. I refuse to do this anymore today."

"Well, all right, fine!" Lucifer huffed. "Give birth at a stoplight because people didn't go as fast as they could to get you out. Fine with me!"

"That's not gonna happen!" Ellie shook her head, which was beginning to throb. "We all know what we're doing. We'll get there in time. I won't give birth at a stoplight."

"You say that, but you don't know!" Lucifer shouted, gesticulating wildly with his hands. "You could!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, will you stop worrying?" Dexter said. "This isn't even your first kid! Calm down, would you?"

"It's the first child that's gonna be delivered by people I don't know! It's the first child that's been delivered somewhere else than home," Lucifer pointed out. "So don't you tell me not to be worried!"

His breathing was heavy and his eyes were wide. When Ellie put her arms around him, his body was tense.

"You're right," she conceded. "I'm sorry. Why don't we go into your office and I'll give you a scalp massage? Would that make you feel better?"

"It might," Lucifer nodded and took her hand. "Let's try it."

Then Ellie looked at Dexter. "You wanna go after him?"

"Yes," Dexter nodded. "I like it when you do it because your nails aren't pointy and pokey like Valerie's are when she does it."

"Ouch," Ellie winced. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Dexter nodded and followed them to Lucifer's office. "Me too."

* * *

"Honey?" Ellie asked after knocking on Vincent's door the next day. "Honey, are you all right? Is there anything you want to talk about?" She'd heard him up and pacing every night when she'd gotten up to go to the bathroom and she was concerned. She'd stayed quiet at first, to respect his privacy, but she now felt that she had to act.

She opened the door and coughed as she was hit in the face with smoke. When it was cleared away, she found her son pacing his bedroom floor, the carpet around his feet littered with cigarette boxes. He also had a cigarette in his teeth.

"You haven't been sleeping," Ellie remarked and continued to clear the room of smoke before taking a seat on his bed. "Why not?"

"Cause it's the stuff I did with Lauren that helped me sleep!" Vincent remarked, his eyes red. "And now she's gone! Did you know that she has her own place now? That she's not even living with Toni and Adrian anymore? Can you _believe_ that?"

"I can," Ellie sighed. "I'm sorry you're alone, honey, but...after what happened between you, I don't blame her for wanting to get away for a bit. Just give her time and if you do, I'm sure she'll come back."

"Whose side are you on, anyway?" Vincent huffed. "You're supposed to be on mine, not Lauren's!"

"I'll be on the side of the person who was wronged and sweetie, in this case, it's not you," Ellie told him. "Your dad and I went through this same thing. He waited for me." She paused. "Well, not exactly, but..."

"What did he do instead?" Vincent demanded. "I want Lauren back. Or I'll...rip this house apart!"

"You will not!" Ellie told him. "I think you need some fresh air. Have Christopher take you out or something. I think that might be good for all of us."

"Fine," Vincent huffed. "Whatever."

"But clean this room before you go," Ellie continued. "It's a living space, not a trash dump."

Vincent scoffed as he reached the door. "If you want it cleaned up so bad, you do it!"

"Excuse me?" Ellie asked. "What did you just say to me, young man?"

"I said, 'If you want my room clean so bad, you do it'," Vincent repeated.

That was it for Ellie. She got in his face and said, "I want you to apologize. I know you're in pain, but that's no excuse to be disrespectful to your mother!"

"And what will you do to me if I don't apologize?" Vincent asked.

"If you're trying to goad me into hurting you, I won't do it," Ellie told him. "That's no way to make your point to someone. I just...it hurts me to be spoken to so rudely. I thought we had a good enough relationship that something like this would never happen between us. Am I wrong?"

"No," Vincent huffed, mad that she'd made him feel guilty, but not wanting to show it. "I'm sorry." He magicked his room clean and then went to find Christopher and see if he wanted to go to the Underground.

* * *

Although she normally found it difficult to form real attachments to people that involved her caring just as much about them as they did about her, Valerie had managed to have a soft spot for Lauren, and to her surprise, the break up of her and Vincent had really hit Valerie hard.

"Are you sure you two can't make it work?" She asked Lauren one day while visiting her and Nick. "He's really upset."

"Good!" Lauren huffed. "He should be! It's gonna take a hell of a lot to get me to like him again after what he did...if I ever do!"

"Well, that's good to know," Valerie nodded. "Here's another question: So, you don't like my brother, which means you probably won't be sleeping with him. But how will you handle your demon horniness?"

"Well, I really can't think of that when Nick's my first concern," Lauren told her.

"Of course he is, but sooner or later, you will _not_ be able to ignore it, so what will you do then?"

"Can you get me a vibrator or something?" Lauren asked. "Handling it on my own would probably be best."

"You know, Angelica tried that when she still thought she hated Sammy and it didn't do a good enough job," Valerie warned.

"Fine, so I'll go and have flings," Lauren shrugged. "A guy here. A guy there. That's okay, right? Like, having sex with humans won't kill them?"

"I don't know," Valerie shrugged. "Never had sex with a human before. I mean, I pretended once, but that's it. So it could be and it could not be." She chuckled. "I love the thought of cheating on him the way he cheated on me!"

"Wait, he cheated on you?" Valerie gasped. "I thought you guys' fight was just about baby stress! Has he lost his mind or what?"

"That's what I wondered myself," Lauren sighed. "Cause I mean, you'd think that a person you save from the brink of death because you loved them so much would deserve a little patience when not being on sexually because they just had a kid, but apparently, Vincent doesn't feel that way." She conveniently left out the part where Vincent had wanted to take care of Nick and she hadn't let him. That might not get her the sympathy she wanted, even from Valerie.

"I just...that's _incredible_!" Valerie shook her head. She was totally stupefied. How could her brother be so dumb? She'd have to check with Christopher about this just to be extra sure it had happened. "You want me to take care of him for you?" She asked. "Cause I will."

"Well, what do you mean by 'take care of'?" Lauren asked. "You're not gonna kill him, are you?"

"Nah!" Valerie shook her head. "I'm just gonna beat him up a little."

"Okay," Lauren nodded. "That sounds all right. You may proceed."

* * *

Valerie put her plan into action the next morning. Knowing that Dexter would strongly disapprove of what she was doing, she sneaked out of their bed while he was still sound asleep, went to Vincent's room and began beating him soundly. This is what Dexter woke up to.

"Hey, hey, hey!" He yelled when he reached Vincent's room and found him on his knees on the floor, bleeding and weeping. She'd kicked him hard in his man parts several times and punched him in the face twice. "What in the world is going on here?"

"That's from Lauren," Valerie explained. "She asked me to dish out a little justice to this adulterer! But he won't be in pain much longer. Once I rip his balls off and stomp on them, then I'll be done!"

"No, Valerie, you will do no such thing!" Dexter cried, shocked that she actually seemed to be serious. Her demon face and red eyes were an indication of that. "This is your _brother_ for crying out loud! Not some random bad person! Step away, would you?"

When Valerie didn't, he literally picked her up and carried her out of the room, and straight to her parents' bedroom.

"Thanks for stopping all that racket, Dexter," Lucifer grinned. "I wondered what that was."

"It was Valerie meting out retribution on her brother for the whole mess with Lauren," Dexter told him and finally put Valerie down. "Don't you have something you'd like to say about that? She beat him up pretty bad."

"But on the plus side, I didn't rip off his man parts even though I was really thinking about it," Valerie told them. "That's something, right?"

"No, it's not!" Ellie cried. "Valerie, you cannot beat up your brother! What's going on with him and Lauren is their business and we do _not_ need to get involved."

"What if Lauren _wants_ me involved?" Valerie asked. "She told me what he did and that she wanted me to beat him up for it. I didn't believe that Vincent would do something so stupid at first when he loves her so much, but Christopher told me it was all true! Oh, and by the way, he thinks Vincent is a moron too."

"Be that as it may, and as proud as I am that you're taking initiative to punish this kind of behavior," Lucifer broke in, "it's humans only, meaning that I don't want you to do it to your brother. He's punishing himself enough already. Now go tell him that you're sorry."

"Do I _have_ to?" Valerie whined. "I _really_ don't want to."

"Yes!" Lucifer said firmly. "Go apologize to your brother."

"Fine," Valerie huffed. Since her father wasn't siding with her, she realized she'd have to get off this particular high horse. "I'll go apologize."

"Thank you," Lucifer told her as she stomped out of the room.

"Well, that was a surprise," Dexter told him with a smile.

"I'm just full of surprises," Lucifer cleared his throat and then looked back and forth between Dexter and Ellie. "Now, as long as we're up...who wants breakfast?"

* * *

"Why did I do that?" Ellie asked not long after as she made her way back inside the house after a hunt that she insisted on going on and collapsed. Her face, dress, and hair were covered with blood, giving her something of a frightening appearance. "Why did I think I could handle it? I'm such an _idiot_!"

"I told you not to! I knew something bad would happen! " Lucifer cried. He'd settled himself in an armchair by the front door so he could meet her the second she came in. "Why did I let you go hunting by yourself? It wouldn't have hurt you for me to come with you, would it? Are you hurt? What's going on?"

"Labor!" Ellie screamed, her face demonic. "Hospital! Now."

"All right, everyone," Lucifer called as he picked Ellie up off the floor and began leading her to her car. "Time to head to the hospital, just like we practiced! The next child is coming!"

Ellie gritted her teeth, growled, and swore, complaining that she wasn't some sort of baby making machine in a factory as Lucifer ushered her into the backseat and kissed her. "You're doing great," he told her before he shut the door.

"Thanks," she breathed, then shut her eyes and tried to block out the pain by thinking of all the lovely drugs she'd be given not too long from now. "Should we tell Vincent and Valerie what's going on? Or call Angelica?"

"Not right now," Lucifer shook his head and got in the driver's seat. "We'll let them know once you're settled."

* * *

When Ellie was set up in her room and pumped full of wonderful, pain-killing drugs, Lucifer finally told their other children. Ellie didn't expect Vincent to come, but Valerie did sat Dexter's urging, and soon after her arrival, Angelica came with Sammy.

"How are you doing, Mom?" She asked and put some flowers in a vase on Ellie's bedside table. "This'll brighten the place up a bit."

"Oh, I'm fine, thanks," A grinning Ellie told her as she kept her eyes on the monitor. "Look at that thing! It says I'm having another contraction, but I don't feel it! These meds are great!"

"So do we just sit and wait now?" Valerie asked. "Can't you have Grandpa Junior pull them out or something? That would be quicker."

"Daddy's not in obstetrics," Ellie told her. "But I'm sure he'll find out I'm here at some point and visit."

By the time that happened, Ellie had been in labor for a while.

"This one is taking his sweet time, right?" He remarked jovially.

"Yeah, but I don't see what you're so happy about," Valerie said. "Can't you do something to make him come out faster?"

"No, kids take their own sweet time, unfortunately," Junior replied.

"We were lucky Angelica came out fast," Lucifer told her. "And your mother was unconscious when you and your brother came, so that's why you were delivered the way you were. Why don't you go and get a snack or something if you're bored?"

"I just might!" Valerie replied. "I don't think I've ever been so bored in my entire life!"

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry for inconveniencing you," Ellie replied dryly.

"It's not your fault. It's the _baby's_ fault," Valerie said and then left the room. She got herself a sandwich and went to wait in the car.

When the baby was finally born, Dexter found Valerie asleep, gently waking her up. "Your new brother is here," He grinned.

"Lovely," Valerie replied. "Does that mean we can go home?"

"Well, I suppose, but don't you want to come see him first?"

"Fine," Valerie nodded and followed him back to Ellie's room. "All right."

Though she was not particularly good with children, she did her best to summon up a smile and good will for her mother. "You did it!" She said when she came to her mother's bedside. "You finally had the kid. I bet you're glad that's over, right?"

"You're telling me!" Ellie nodded. "He's ten pounds!"

"Ouch!" Valerie sucked in a breath. "Good for you, Mom! I'm proud of you!"

"Thanks!" Ellie grinned. "You want to hold Noah?"

"You named him _Noah?"_ Valerie's nose wrinkled.

"I like it," Angelica remarked. Then she took out a knitted blue thing from her purse. "It's supposed to be a hat, but I don't think it turned out very well."

"Did you make this?" Ellie asked. "How sweet!"

"Yeah," Sammy said, smiling proudly and ruffling Angelica's hair. "Grandma Selina helped."

"I'll hold him now!" Valerie blurted, stung that the attention had drifted away from her to Angelica's stupid blue hat so quickly.

"All right," Ellie smiled. "Be careful. Don't drop him."

Valerie sat down and held onto him. He wasn't very attractive at all and the fear that she would be peed or pooped on made her give him up quickly, but she tried longer than either of her parents expected, so they couldn't complain.

"Now you've done your duty," Ellie told her as she got up from the rocker. "You can go home and rest. Thanks for coming."

"You're welcome," Valerie replied. "I really _am_ happy for you, you know."

"I do," Ellie nodded. "Thanks a lot."

After Valerie left the room, Noah was taken so that Ellie could rest, which meant that everyone but her and Lucifer left the room too. "You did marvelously," Lucifer told her as he took her hand. "Thank you for having our children."

"You're welcome," Ellie replied and shut her eyes. "No problem, especially with the drugs. They were nice. Are you going to stay tonight?"

"If you want me to, I will," Lucifer replied. "You know I don't do well by myself."

"True," Ellie conceded as she turned over onto her side and he pulled her blankets up to her chin. "In that case, I would love you to stay."


	110. Attack Of The Green Eyed Monster

"It was so nice of the two of you to come visit!" Selina exclaimed, answering the door to Toni's knock and then ushering her and Adrian inside before giving Adrian a look. "It's been awhile since someone has visited his mother!"

"We saw each other at Lucifer's ball!" Adrian said. "Remember that? That wasn't that long ago!"

"Yes, but you were working and then the mansion caught on fire!" Selina reminded him. "We hardly had time to talk at all!" She then paused and said, "That fire wasn't planned, was it? Wasn't some part of the party?"

"Why would the house being set on fire be part of the party?" Adrian knit his eyebrows in confusion.

"Well, you know it was a Gone With The Wind themed ball and the climax of that movie _is_ when Atlanta burns," Selina reminded him.

"Nope, it wasn't part of the party," Adrian shook his head. "It was all a giant problem!"

"What a shame," Selina sighed. "It would have been a terrific bit of theater."

"But didn't you live through that or something?" Toni questioned. "Wouldn't it have made bad memories for you?"

"I was alive," Selina nodded. "But I wasn't in Atlanta at the time. It was an even _bigger mess_ than what we had in Mystic Falls and that was bad enough as it is!"

"Who's at the door?" Dorian called from another room. "Is it Adrian and his not-girlfriend? Didn't you say they were visiting?"

"Yes we are!" Adrian shouted back. "We're here! And now she's officially my girlfriend, okay? You'll have to find something else to tease me about!"

"Well, that's good to know," Dorian replied coming down the hall after his shower. His dark hair was wet and he was barefoot, wearing black pants and a red polo shirt. "I've been waiting for the day I could tease you about something else! Why do you think I was teasing you in the first place?"

"I think we should all have a drink to celebrate this," Selina decided. "Adrian, will you come into the kitchen and help me with the champagne and the glasses?"

"Sure," Adrian nodded and followed his mother. "I would love to."

When they were safely in the kitchen, out of Dorian and Toni's hearing, Selina told Adrian in a hushed voice, "Are you serious about this? Or was it just something you said to rile Dorian up?"

"Oh, no, it's real!" Adrian assured her. "She lives at my house and we're sleeping together and Rusty really likes her, so..." He shrugged. Then he grunted as his mother threw herself at him and squeezed him really tight.

"I'm so glad to hear that," she whispered. "I really am. If you guys are like that, she must make you super happy and that's all I've ever wanted for you. I'm _so_ happy now. I really am."

"Thanks," Adrian nodded. "I am too. It's harder than it looks to find a woman who accepts me for who I am and doesn't want me to change. Toni likes what I like and we don't fight a lot...it's very...we're going a very good speed."

Selina just kept grinning and hugging him until Toni came in. "Dorian is wondering where the wine is, and we ordered a pizza. I hope part three-meat and part cheese is all right."

"Oh, that's great!" Selina nodded and finally let Adrian go to help Toni search for the wine. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"Does your mom have a really fancy red we could drink? Not that I know a lot about wine, or would normally care, but this is a special occasion so I _want_ to be fancy!" Toni remarked as they searched.

"Well, she doesn't usually do red, but I'm sure there's something around here that will suit our needs," Adrian remarked.

It didn't take them long to find it and Selina was at the door to the basement yelling at them that the pizza had come just as they made their way up the stairs. "Sorry," she apologized when she saw. "If I'd have known you were on your way up, I wouldn't have shouted." She paused. "Which wine did you pick? Oh, the Chianti? My dad got me that!"

"He did?" Adrian asked. "Seriously? I thought this would be too fancy for him. I didn't know he drank anything other than the occasional glass of whiskey!"

"I know, right?" Selina nodded and took it from him. "Believe me, when I saw, I was as surprised as you." She got the wine open and they poured it into glasses, then brought them into the dining room where it had been decided they would eat at the table instead of in front of the TV.

"Maybe we should take a picture of this," Dorian remarked to Selina. "For your mother. You know how Amelia is always saying that we should eat at the table like civilized people more often."

"And with Mama, if there's no evidence, like photos or something, she doesn't believe it happened," Selina agreed.

So that's what they actually did once the pizza was gone and the dishes had been cleared: took a photo to send to Amelia with the caption of "Look how civilized we are!"

After the picture, Adrian decided that Toni had been subjected to his mother enough for one visit and that it was time to go home.

"You don't have to, but if you feel you must, all right," Selina told him and began running water to do the dishes. "But I really hope you come back! This was fun!"

"Are you sure I can't help you with the dishes?" Toni asked.

"You're sweet," Selina told her with a smile, her big blue eyes bright. "But there aren't that many. I can handle it."

"All right," Toni said. "Bye!" They left and were all the way out to the car when Toni groaned and realized she'd left her bag inside. "Just let me run back and get it. It won't take too long," she assured Adrian.

"Sure, go ahead," Adrian told her, settling himself into the driver's seat, and looking at his reflection in the windshield to smooth some errant strands of his blond hair. "I'm not gonna stop you."

But when Toni headed back inside the penthouse and called Dorian and Selina's names, no one answered. The air in the room even seemed different than it had when she'd left. She took a few more cautious steps into the seemingly empty living room. No noise except the hum of the ceiling fan, and it was the same when she checked the other rooms. The sink was even still full of dirty dishes and soapy water.

Confused and concerned, Toni grabbed her large black leather purse and did a few more rounds to check for some sign of life, but still found nothing. That was when she sat down on the couch and called Adrian to come up from the car.

"What do you need me to come up for?" Adrian asked. "Don't tell me you need help finding your purse. That thing is _huge_! I still don't understand how you forgot it in the first place!"

"No, it's not that," Toni replied. "I found my purse just fine. It's your mom and Dorian that seem to be missing. You wanna come up and help me look for them?"

"Fine, but I really don't think you have anything to worry about," Adrian said. "They're probably in their bedroom or the yard or something. Or on a hunt! Sometimes Mom does it during the day!"

"I don't think so," Toni said. "Your mom didn't even finish the dishes and she seemed pretty keen on getting those done before she did anything else."

"All right," Adrian replied. "I'll come up." But he still wasn't truly alarmed when he came in, something that concerned Toni.

"Your mother and stepfather are _missing!_ " She cried. "How can you not be panicked?"

"My mom, for all her good qualities, has this habit of just doing whatever pops into her head," Adrian replied patiently. "She could be doing the dishes one minute and then, out of the blue, decide on a whim that she wants to go to a movie and leave the dishes only half done. I've seen it happen before! This is _not_ strange!"

"But will you look around anyway?" Toni insisted. "Maybe check for a ransom note or something in case they've been kidnapped?"

"You really think something bad has happened to them?" Adrian asked, some concern finally showing in his voice. "Really?"

"Yep," Toni sighed and began scrubbing dishes as a way to make her sense of dread disappear. "And I don't think it's anything good, whatever it is."

* * *

Ellie finished feeding Noah and then cuddled with him for a bit before his eyes closed and she put him back to bed. Then she left his room and went in the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. As had been the case with her other children, after the birth of her baby, her body had quickly recovered and now she looked just as svelte as she had before her pregnancy.

"You look good," she whispered to herself and winked at her reflection. "You look sexy. Go forth and conquer." Straightening up and squaring her shoulders, she strode out of the bathroom and then saw Lee coming out of a nearby room. She still didn't trust him farther than she could throw him and her gut told her that he was up to something shifty, so she put a spell on herself to render her body invisible and then followed him, watching as he and Lucifer bumped into each other outside Lucifer's office.

"How are you, Lee?" Lucifer asked, putting an arm around his shoulders. "I hope our new child isn't disturbing you. Have you met Noah yet?"

"I haven't, no," Lee shook his head. "I'm not particularly good with children. Besides, didn't you say that I should wait before I start to act friendly with your family? Get them used to having me around and the idea that I really _am_ your son?"

"Well, sure, I said that. It was mainly because of Eleanor," Lucifer told him. "She's being very childish about all this. But that doesn't mean you can't get to know people. That's fine."

Ellie's jaw dropped when she heard this. "I'm not being childish!" She whispered and then growled. "You are, you idiot!"

"Did you hear something?" Lucifer asked Lee. "I heard a noise. Was it your stomach? Are you hungry?"

"Well, come to think of it, I am," Lee agreed. "If you're ready to have something, I hope you don't mind if I come with you."

"Of course not, son," Lucifer grinned. "I would love that!"

"And I also want to say I'm glad that I finally have a dad, Dad," Lee told him. "I've never had that before now, obviously."

"Well," Lucifer told him, "It's my pleasure to give you the chance, Lee."

They then strolled off to eat, leaving Ellie fuming as she made herself visible again. It was true. Everything she'd been afraid of was coming true. Lee was getting chummy with her husband and with Lucifer never being able to get enough affection, anyone who gave it to him would probably get whatever they wanted...which meant that, possibly, Lee would ask for and be given more importance and stuff than the other kids and she did not endure hours of pain and agony for that to happen. No freaking way.

* * *

"Eleanor, I know we usually eat out for lunch on Thursdays, but I was wondering if I could take Lee out tomorrow instead?" Lucifer asked Ellie that night. "He found this wonderful new seafood restaurant for us to go to."

"Fine," Ellie nodded. "Go spend time with your stupid son. Forget about me and our kids and stuff. I don't care. Thanks, at least, for being up front with the fact that your stupid new son that you lied to me about matters more to you than your _real_ family!"

"Who said that?" Lucifer asked. "What would possibly make you think that I care about Lee more than you or the other children?"

"Well, you're taking him out to lunch during _our_ lunch time, you're letting him call you 'Dad; he's got free run of the house and you want him to get to know people!" Ellie huffed, her lip jutting out in a pout. "I know Vincent is having issues right now, but that's no reason to just cast him aside and replace him with a stranger!"

"You know what, that's it!" Lucifer shouted. "I'm sick of your insecurity and your childishness, Eleanor! I've been very good ever since I set eyes on you. I've never given you any reason to doubt my dedication to or my love for you. At all! And yet you keep accusing me of unreasonable things like trying to screw over the family you and I have worked so hard to build when all I want is for a young man who has never had any idea of what a stable home environment looks like to know that there is one waiting here for him if he ever needs it! That's all! That's hardly planning any sort of coup! But if you're not happy, maybe I should! Maybe I _should_ just give you what you want and pay attention to others more than you! At least then, you wouldn't be in doubt about my intentions!"

"I'm moving to another room!" Ellie shouted. "As far as I can get away from you! And I'm taking Noah with me!"

"Fine!" Lucifer shouted. "Whatever! I don't care! I know you'll be back eventually! You always are!"

"I won't be!" Ellie shouted.

* * *

But not long after, she was. Her anger never lasted, especially toward Lucifer. Once it was out of her, she felt better and was ready to make up. "All right!" She said, coming to stand outside her and Lucifer's door. "You're right! I'm back and sorry about our fight! Can I come in?"

She heard nothing. She opened the door. The bed was empty and made, and there was no one in the bathroom or the closet. Her heart rate picked up. She felt faint. She ran for Dexter and told him Lucifer was missing.

It took some searching, but finally, they found him just sitting in one of his cars. "Were you looking for me?" He asked. "I thought you didn't want to be near me anymore."

"I came to apologize for my part in the fight," Ellie replied. "I said some things that I shouldn't have said and I didn't mean, and I'm sorry."

"Are you going to give Lee a break now?" Lucifer asked her.

"No," Ellie shook her head. "Still hate him."

"Well, I don't accept your apology then," Lucifer told her. "You stop being a child about Lee and then we'll talk, but until then, I'm afraid I just don't want to deal with you anymore."

"Fine," Ellie scoffed, locking him in the car with her magic, zapping up a knife and slitting all four of the car's tires as he growled in frustration and his eyes went red. "Whatever." Then she stomped back into the house while muttering unflattering things about Lucifer under her breath. At least _Noah_ still liked her and was pleasant, unlike the other men in her family.

* * *

After Lucifer's slight concerning the Lee situation, Ellie became more determined to drive Lee out than ever.

"I'll show Lucifer who's the childish one," she muttered to herself, a stack of money in hand as she waited for Lisa to arrive that day. " _He_ 's the childish one. Not me!"

"Hi!" Lisa said a few seconds later. "Is Noah ready?"

"Oh, yeah," Ellie grinned and handed her the money. "And you take this before I forget."

"Really?" Lisa asked. "Why?"

"It's for the _other_ part of this job," Ellie told her with a grin. "Lee's not big on children and he apparently has issues with you too, so would you introduce Noah to Lee? Have the three of you spend the day together?"

"Okay, if you think it'll be good for Noah," Lisa replied.

"Of course it will!" Ellie remarked as Lisa took the money. "It'll be great!"

So Lisa sighed and went to get the baby and as she came out of his room, she bumped into Lee.

"Fancy meeting you here," she remarked as he began jogging away from her. But she just held Noah tight and ran for it. "Here's the new baby. Wanna see him? Ellie said you wanted to!"

"Would you stop chasing me?" Lee shouted making Noah cry. "Leave me alone!"

"Now look what you did, you insensitive clod!" Lisa frowned. "You upset him!"

"Well, maybe he shouldn't be around me then," Lee hissed. "Maybe you should take him and go somewhere else!"

Lisa left then and for a few seconds, Lee thought he was free of her. But then she returned...without the baby. "What do you have to say for yourself now?" She asked.

"I don't know," Lee shook his head. "I think I've said everything I have to say, considering that you tried to make me bond with a child when I didn't even want to! And you shouldn't abandon a child when you're being paid to watch him!"

"He's asleep!" Lisa smiled. "So I can do whatever I want until he wakes up." She then followed him around for a bit until he grabbed her, put her over his shoulder, and carried her to the dining room, sitting her down. "Will you stop following me?" He demanded. "Who does that?"

"I find you fascinating!" She got out. "It's not my fault." She grinned, taking on a new tack because if he was just annoyed with her, then she definitely wouldn't accomplish her goal for Ellie. At least not the way she'd prefer, anyway. "What will you do if I _don't_ stop following you?" She grinned,, taking his hand and circling his palm with her thumb. "Will you spank me?"

"No, if you didn't, I would beat you until you were unconscious," Lee replied. His face was completely lacking any feeling as he threw her hand away.

"Are you serious that my attempt to arouse you didn't work?" Lisa asked.

"Does it look like it did?" Lee asked, still somber.

"Well, not from your face, but..." Lee then gasped in shock as he felt her hand cup his crotch, and she did not hesitate to grin at his discomfort. "But it seems like you got a bit of a bulge there!"

Lee was about to protest further, but instead, he leaned down and sniffed her hair. Then she straightened up and they stared at each other, their faces getting closer and closer until, much to Lee's relief, the child let out a very audible wail and Lisa went to attend to him, leaving Lee alone to catch his breath.

* * *

It took some time to arrange it because of Junior's work schedule, but as soon as he could be home with the girls for a few hours, Maeve set off to see Noah.

"Sorry it took me so long to come," she apologized and sat down in a rocker with Noah in her arms. "I meant to come earlier, but they're really working your dad hard lately at the hospital."

"Oh, that's fine," Ellie told her with a smile. "Don't beat yourself up about it. I knew you'd come eventually."

Maeve looked down at the little boy and smiled. "Well, his eyes are closed, but he's got Lucifer's hair," she remarked. "You think he'll be like him?"

"Well, so far, everyone's gotten a little bit of both of us," Ellie replied. "It just depends what. Like for example, Vincent's showing every bit of Lucifer he's got in him right now and I just...he's my child and I love him, but sometimes..." She made a face.

"You want me to handle it while I'm here?" Maeve questioned.

"Oh, no, you don't have to do that," Ellie shook her head. "It's fine. He's not even here right now anyway. He and Christopher went out again."

"What's he having a tantrum about?" Maeve questioned.

"He thought Lauren was giving Nick more attention than him so he strayed and now Lauren has a place of her own and they're fighting," Ellie sighed. "I know Lucifer would never react that strongly, but I still...I don't know what he's gonna say if I suggest we hold off being intimate even longer than the first six weeks after Noah's birth because I want to enjoy some time without being pregnant for a bit before it happens again."

"And you think it will if you let him go to bed with you right after the first six weeks are over?" Maeve asked.

"Well, yeah," Ellie remarked. "I mean, have you _met_ us?" She paused. "Then again, we haven't spoken much lately, so maybe I'll get my break without even asking for it."

"What's happened now?" Maeve asked. "What did he do?"

"Well, you remember that Lee guy who's been around here?" Ellie told her. "Well, Lucifer has officially taken him on as a surrogate son or something and wants him to live here and be part of our family. That upsets me. We had a fight and then he ran off and I thought he was gone for good, but when I came to apologize, he said he wouldn't forgive me unless I laid off Lee. But instead of doing that, I...sorta locked him in his car with magic and slit all four of his tires."

"Not his _main_ car!" Maeve said, wide eyed.

"No, one of the other ones," Ellie said. "A red one. I can't keep them all straight."

"Well, at least you didn't slash up his main car," Maeve told her. "If you had, he probably would have killed you!"

"I am at a point where I am very close to killing _him!_ " Ellie huffed. "I mean, since when did he go around just inviting the children of random women he dated to live with him! I thought that part of what made me special was that I was the first one he wanted to have children with! But apparently not! Now, just like when it comes to his sexual habits, he'll just take anyone!"

"Don't you think you're being just a bit harsh?" Maeve questioned. "I mean, if this was a situation like the one with Vincent and Lauren, I would get why you're so mad, but I don't. Why don't I put Noah in his room and you and I and Dexter and Lucifer can talk about this? Cause I bet you don't _want_ to be in this fight with him?"

"No, not really," Ellie shook her head.

It took a bit of convincing, but eventually, Dexter and Maeve managed to get Lucifer to come to his office and talk with them and Ellie. But before that got underway, Ellie had to leave and go use the bathroom. And when she returned, Dexter, Maeve, and Lucifer had disappeared.

Thinking Lucifer was tricking her again, Ellie sent people all over the grounds to look for him and the others, but they found nothing. No one.

"They can't just be _gone_!" Angelica said as she and Sammy returned with Noah in hand to give the frazzled, guilt-ridden Ellie some comfort. They'd come over to look after him while Ellie searched. "They have to be somewhere!"

"Nope!" Ellie shook her head. She had a lump in her throat and she felt a tear go down her cheek. She might never see Lucifer again and the last thing either had to remember the other by was a bunch of angry words that neither of them meant. "He's gone. He's gone and after how I've acted, if he chose to leave, he probably won't be coming back at all." She paused. "No, wait. Maeve and Dexter are with him! That means there's still hope he could come back, right? They could convince him?"

"I think it'll all be okay, Mom," Angelica told her and even Valerie put a steady hand on her mother's shoulder. "We'll see them again. I just know it."

 **The End**

 **Next Up, Dad's Plan: The disappearance of Lucifer, Maeve, Dexter, and others has everyone on the hunt for them. Angelica tries to ask her Grandpa for help, but he's suddenly disappeared as well, leaving nothing but a note for her that says "Trust Me." When she sees that, she and everyone else wonders just what He has to do with it all.**


End file.
